Experts warn: difficult to reach 67 years old with full capacity
Social Security experts agree that reaching 67 years of age with full work capacity is a challenging milestone for many workers. This reality particularly affects the most demanding sectors, where physical and mental wear becomes noticeable prematurely.
Many employees find themselves trapped between tougher retirement requirements and the deterioration of their occupational health, highlighting the need to adjust current retirement and support models. The question is: how does this affect the region and what can be done to alleviate this issue?
The difficulty of maintaining full work capacity until 67 years old in Tarragona
Why is this relevant for workers in the Camp de Tarragona?
The extension of the retirement age to 67 directly impacts the lives of workers in the capital of Camp de Tarragona, especially in physically demanding sectors such as construction, healthcare, or commerce.
The accumulated wear, often invisible in medical reports, creates a scenario where many professionals reach 60 with chronic fatigue and without full capacity to perform their tasks. This leads to an increase in sick leaves and a widespread feeling of overload.
Which sectors suffer this wear the most?
The most affected sectors in Tarragona and the surrounding area coincide with the national trend: healthcare, social services, construction, and physically intense jobs.
These fields report a high incidence of burnout and mental health problems, which, combined with job insecurity, make it even harder for workers to reach the legal retirement age in optimal conditions.
Requirements and realities of the pension system in the area
How do the years contributed affect retirement in Tarragona?
The current system requires a minimum of 38 years and 3 months contributed to retire at 65 years, a difficult barrier to reach for many workers with fragmented career paths or periods spent on family care.
In the region, many face this challenge after years of temporary contracts and instability, which prolongs their active period and increases physical and mental pressure.
What options exist for those who do not meet these requirements?
One notable alternative is partial retirement with a relief contract, which allows reducing working hours and starting to collect part of the pension before the ordinary age.
In Tarragona, this option is still little used due to lack of corporate adoption, but it represents a way to facilitate a smoother and healthier transition to definitive retirement.
Strategies to manage the end of working life in the Terres de l'Ebre
How can partial retirement help improve quality of work life?
Partial retirement provides a progressive "work deceleration," allowing workers to adapt their hours to their physical and mental capacity, avoiding extreme exhaustion and increased sick leaves.
But for this tool to work in the Terres de l'Ebre, a change in corporate mentality and institutional support facilitating this option is needed.
What role do mental health and burnout play in prolonging the working career?
The impact of burnout and job insecurity is especially visible in workers over 55 years old, with 43% more sick leaves recently registered.
In a territory like Terres de l'Ebre, where a mature active population is significant, policies of prevention and support addressing these problems comprehensively must be implemented.
The reality is that data and testimonies from experts like Alfonso Muñoz Cuenca highlight the growing difficulty for many workers to reach 67 years in optimal conditions. In Tarragona and Terres de l'Ebre, this reality demands practical solutions, from flexibilizing requirements to promoting partial retirement and attending to occupational mental health. Social Security and local businesses play a key role in ensuring that the extension of working life does not translate into irreversible deterioration of workers' quality of life.
