María, fictitious name, cannot go to the hairdresser without her husband giving her permission. The only income the couple has is the almost 800 euros that the man earns. The woman is “forced” to ask him if he can afford any “extra” such as getting his hair cut or styled. The same thing happens if you have to buy shoes, clothes or some accessories. They are all “luxuries” that cannot be afforded. “I have never worked,” she assures one of the people who cares for her at Creix, a non-profit association created in 2021 to support the elderly and their families in Santa Eulária (Eivissa).
If life on the island is an obstacle course to make ends meet, mainly due to the price of housing, the vast majority of retirees, who do not have pensions that can cover all these expenses, find themselves in a very delicate situation. If they are women, the difficulties multiply. The lack of access to a contributory pension because they have worked at home or because their husbands are already paid reduces their decision-making power over the most basic needs such as buying shoes or going to the hairdresser. Meanwhile, caring for husbands, descendants, dependent elderly relatives and caring for grandchildren are some of the jobs that, today, women continue to carry in their backpacks.
María and her husband have a daughter with a disability who has just now become emancipated because she has obtained her own pension. “He was lucky to find a small home,” says Vicente Marí Ribas, one of the people in charge of Creix. “While he lived with María, they all lived off his father’s retirement,” he explains. “You don’t see them on the street, they go to the store and buy the four basic things. This affects your health because you are not nourished as you should be. It affects socialization, because they can’t go out, they don’t interact,” he says. Creix is financed with different public contributions, donations from private entities and fundraising events.
“We charge five euros a month. But there are even people who are exempt, because they cannot pay them.” This is the outline of the users of Creix, which has two locations in Jesús and Puig d’en Valls where they organize different activities with the aim of the elderly interacting, being active and not losing social ties. On these dates they hold a Halloween gala with the screening of the film by Ibizan Héctor Escandell ‘The Crimes of All Saints’ Day’.
There are many handicaps that the elderly have to overcome in order to live with dignity and be able to participate in the society that surrounds them, without being stranded on the side. But from Creix they subscribe that the case of women is more bloody, if possible. “Women do not have the right to a non-contributory pension if the husband receives a decent pension,” they explain. “Although her daughter has left home, the situation has not changed. The husband charges 804 euros, but, since the limit was 799 euros, the wife has not been able to ask for hers. They have their own home, but with 800 euros in Ibiza it is impossible to live decently,” they say.
“It depends on how many or few euros your husband wants to give you. If he decides that I can endure with what I have, I will have to endure, even if I need some shoes, he is the one who tells me if I can or not,” María explains. He has no pension, he cannot decide or choose. It is what it is. “A woman who has maintained a house, who has been working all her life and still continues to do so… We demand that they have their pension so that they do not have to depend on their husbands. It is a question of dignity,” they request from Creix.
“In winter you go to sleep at seven in the afternoon”
Other retirees only receive the minimum pension because they have not contributed enough. They have spent their working lives as small freelancers or doing craft work. “If you don’t produce in series, it’s not worth signing up.” This is what Luis, an Argentine by birth who has been in Eivissa since 1977, tells elDiario.es. “I have always lived in my house with my partner and we have been able to pay expenses because I continue to do some things for two or three clients that I have left. With the pension I can’t do anything,” he adds. The 74-year-old man has recently separated, “after 32 years of living together”, so with a non-contributory pension, which is around 550 euros, “life is impossible” in the largest of the Pitiüses. Only rooms in shared houses already exceed that amount.
Luis, 74, has recently separated. He has been left with a non-contributory pension of around 550 euros. With this money, ‘life is impossible’ in Ibiza. Only rooms in shared houses already exceed that amount
“You consume the minimum of light. In summer there is no air conditioning and in winter you have the butane bottle attached to you. At seven in the afternoon, go to sleep and cover yourself with blankets.” This is the life of a retiree with this type of pension. “They force you to go to bed early,” he asserts. These are the consequences of energy poverty on the island of luxury suffered by the majority of retirees with non-contributory pensions or family groups, with dependents in charge, with only a retirement payment coming from the “head of the family”.
“Since ’77 I contributed five or six years. Furthermore, we have an aid of a hundred or so euros, because you cannot live on this pension; It is not enough,” he points out. The man refers to aid that the regional Executive offers to people who, despite receiving non-contributory benefits, do not have sufficient income, as corroborated by the Department of Social Affairs. “On the part of the Government there is a supplement to the PNC (non-contributory pension), which is an amount that has a maximum amount of 150.41 euros. There is no minimum,” they explain. However, this supplement is not available for those retirees who receive a small contributory pension, which is sometimes as low as the PNC, especially in the case of women who depend on the pension of their husband or other persons. with low contributions.
Luis, after their separation, found a room “with great luck.” An acquaintance made room for him in his house. Pay 400 euros. “And with the rest I defend myself. But I have to do some extra work, otherwise you can’t live. A little job, maintenance work. Also, I’m doing some work for some clients I have left. Without that I couldn’t live,” he says.
The artisan had several stores that he worked with, he also made souvenirs for the airport stores. “But when the pandemic arrived and, since I opted for the non-contributory pension, I needed an official invoice that they had never asked me for. Before I couldn’t pay the 300-odd euros per month as a freelancer, it was impossible for me. Everything was black. That is why I have not been able to quote everything I have worked on,” he explains to elDiario.es.
Before I couldn’t pay the 300-odd euros per month as a freelancer, it was impossible for me. Everything was black. That’s why I haven’t been able to quote everything I’ve worked on.
Luis
— Pensioner
“I worked in Argentina in the Ministry of Public Works in the province of Buenos Aires, for six years, and I will have some pension there. But I want to continue living here, I have made myself here, I don’t want to leave,” he comments. Luis would need to travel to his country of origin to be able to arrange the paperwork for his Argentine pension and arrange for its collection in Spain. “However, the non-contributory pension has its issues because, for example, you cannot travel for more than two months and to fix this it would take more time,” he specifies.
“Every day it is more difficult to get ahead”
Carmen and her husband are in a better economic situation, although the ailments of age weigh heavily. More so to the “head of the family” who suffers from Alzheimer’s, a burden that Carmen carries on her shoulders. Just as it has happened all his life to raise the six children that the couple has. “We are a retired couple and between the two pensions we earn around 2,000 euros,” the woman tells this newspaper. “But I earn much less than my husband because I have worked part-time and retired earlier due to health problems. It couldn’t be any other way, I had to be with my children and at that time school started at five years old. It was a very difficult time,” he sighs.
I earn much less than my husband because I worked part-time and retired earlier due to health problems. It couldn’t be any other way, I had to be with my children and at that time school started at five years old. It was a very difficult time
Carmen
— Retired
Currently the couple lives with their son who is under 38 years old. “He is thinking about becoming independent, but he has the problem of housing, which he cannot find. The rent is practically the salary she earns,” says the woman. “We have been contributing all our lives. We came from abroad very young, 18 years old, when I got married. “I have worked as a maid and my husband has worked in the town hall and previously in construction,” she says. “I was lucky that the house where I worked had my contract. I was hired for 20 years. I am very grateful, they even let me take the children. My wife told me that there was no problem, that I should take them and do what I could. If there was a sick child, I stayed home without problems,” he points out.
The couple bought land and built their house decades ago. “We made it with our own hands, I was a laborer and my husband was the officer; The older children also helped. It was a lot of sacrifice. But if we hadn’t done it, we wouldn’t be able to pay rent today,” he confirms.
However, it seems that this situation is also going to get worse. The Creix association assures that if things continue like this in five or six years, at most, “retirees will have a brutal crisis on the island.” “Until now the retired population in Ibiza comes from the generation in which everyone wanted to own their homes, and that is why many do not have problems regarding housing. But in a few years, less than we think, the generation that will access retirement, and who did not opt for the purchase at the time, will not be able to continue living on the island. It is already happening with some,” they say.
According to the entity, the way of living of today’s seniors, “who have worked hard for their families and have saved like little ants all their lives,” changed a long time ago, “when renting began to be a life option.” “Every day it is more difficult to get ahead. We stay here because we have all our children here and we are going to need help, but the prices are through the roof,” says Carmen. “At the moment we are leaving. The day my husband needs more help I won’t be able to take care of him. And if we have to hire someone, we won’t be able to get the pension. And if I get sick, what do I do with it?” the woman asks.
In October 2023, the number of pensioners in the Balearic Islands was 201,843. In September 2024, 208,976 people have received their pension, according to data from the Ministry of Inclusion. In the case of the retirement pension, the average amount is 1,334.25 euros, compared to 1,271 in September 2023. The national average is 1,445.75 euros, after the increase in pensions with the CPI of beginning of the year.
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