Pluriactivity, the advantages of working for others and as a self-employed

Did you know that you can have an employee contract and work as a freelancer at the same time ? Many people choose to develop two professional activities when they want to start a business idea without risking too much or to supplement their salary. In those cases, they are in a situation of pluriactivity.

Moonlighting and multi-activity: How are they different?

Pluriactivity and moonlighting are not the same. A moonlighter is one who works in two or more companies at the same time, but is only listed in the General Scheme. On the other hand, pluriactivity implies contributing to more than one Social Security Scheme . For example, as an employed person you will have to contribute to the General Scheme, but as a self-employed person you must also contribute to the RETA.

The advantages of multiple activities for the self-employed

Greater financial security

Pluriactivity provides you with some financial security to face your life project, since you will not depend on a source of income . Working for someone else represents a stable source of income that reduces the risk to which you expose yourself when you start a business idea, giving you more peace of mind so that you can grow little by little.

Dispense with coverage in the RETA

If you work for someone else and you register as a self-employed person in a situation of multiple activity, you can save on your contribution, since, to avoid duplication, you have the possibility of excluding some of the coverage paid by your employer. You can dispense with the coverage for common contingencies in the RETA because if you get sick or suffer an accident, you will be covered with the General Scheme. And if you have quoted double, you can request a refund of the excess quotation .

Access to aid and bonuses

When you register as a freelancer, you have the possibility to choose the flat rate , so that for a year you will only have to pay 60 euros per month . If you want to take advantage of this help, it must be the first time that you work as a freelance or you must have spent two years without having received bonuses. You will not be able to be an administrator of a company, or have debts with the Treasury or Social Security.

Choose the contribution base

If you do not choose the flat rate, as a self-employed in a multi-activity regime you can decide your contribution base according to your working day . If you are employed and have a full working day, the first 18 months you are entitled to a reduction of 50% of the minimum contribution base and during the second eighteen months, you will have a reduction of 75%. If you work for someone else and have a part-time working time greater than 50%, during the first 18 months a reduction of 75% of the minimum contribution base will be applied and of 85% during the second eighteen months.

Collect two pensions

Another advantage of multiple activities comes at the time of retirement. When you reach retirement age, you will be able to collect 50% of the pension , as long as it is not partial or early, and continue developing your work as a freelancer or in the company , either full or part time. Meanwhile, your pension will be revalued and when you stop working, you will begin to collect its full amount. This option is known as an “ active pensioner ”.

Also, you could collect two pensions . In that case, you will have to prove that you have contributed for at least 15 years in each separate scheme and that you have been in a situation of multiple activities during that same period of time. You must also have spent at least two years in a multi-activity situation out of the last 15 before retirement age. If you are only entitled to a pension in one of the schemes, the two contribution bases will be added to calculate the regulatory base, so that you will receive a higher pension than if you had only been self-employed or self-employed.