CASS Andorra
CASS Andorra (Caixa Andorrana de la Seguretat Social) is an entity created in 1966 with the mission of ensuring the administrative, technical, financial management of the healthcare system in Andorra and social security structure under the control of the Government. CASS operation is governed by Law 17/2008 on social security and main missions are:
- Formalize registrations, deregistrations, and variations of data to accumulate contributions
- Collect social security contributions
- Assume inspection and control tasks inherent to its mission
- Handling litigation up to the collection of the sums due and/or the application of the corresponding penalties
- Summoning and suing debtors and infringes
All those functions are provided for by the Social Security Law or by any other regulation. For the fulfillment of its mission, CASS has its own legal personality and full capacity to act, with full inherent rights and obligations. This institution is empowered to apply the technical and administrative rules of international treaties and conventions relating to social security and may create the commissions deemed necessary for the performance of functions.
Contents
CASS Scopes
CASS is made up of two distinct branches or strands of protection:
- General branch – covers reimbursement benefits, temporary disability, maternity, paternity, risk during pregnancy, disability, death capital, and orphan’s pensions.
- Retirement branch – covers the situation of loss of income due to cessation of work or economic activity due to old age and consists of the retirement pension and temporary and life widow’s and widower’s pensions.
Structure of CASS System
CASS system is divided between a general regime, which is the one to which most people adhere, and a special regime designed for those who cannot be included in the general system.
General regime
- Shepards
- Salaried employees
- Persons working in the civil service
- Persons occupying public and/or political positions with remuneration
- Paid sportsmen and sportswomen, by the established regulation
- Company administrators according to established requirements
- Persons holding a sharecropping contract
- Persons who carry out the economic activity on their own account in the Principality of Andorra
- Persons receiving social security or government pension.
Special regime
- Orphans of father and mother and other persons whose guardianship or custody is entrusted to the State
- Persons detained in penitentiary establishments
- Persons with disabilities
- Students from 25 to 30 years of age
- Voluntary insured persons in the general branch and the retirement branch
- Voluntary insured persons in the general branch of insurance
- Early retirees
- Employees who receive less than the minimum wage and are indirectly insured
CASS Social Security Contributions
Andorran legislation establishes that all active persons must pay social security contributions of 22% of their gross salary. On this basis and depending on activity, contributions are paid in one way or another.
Contributions for Employees
Andorran law establishes that CASS must collect 22% of the gross monthly salary from employees. This amount is divided between the employee and the employer:
- Employees must contribute 6.5% of their gross monthly salary to the CASS coffers, 3% to the general branch, and 3.5% to the retirement branch.
- The company must contribute 15.5% of the salary (7% for the general branch and 8.5% for the retirement branch).
However, it is the company that is responsible for paying the amounts directly to CASS each month, which is why some companies decide to pay a higher percentage of the contributions to partially relieve their employees.
Contributions for Self-Employed
Self-employed workers in Andorra (including entrepreneurs with active residency who perform functions related to the administration of the company), being considered workers, are also subject to the social security system. The difference lies in the fact that they have their own system in which all contributions are paid by them.
To achieve the initial purpose of the contribution being 22% of the salary, the minimum contribution base for a self-employed person is established at €2041.35, corresponding to the average Andorran salary as established by law, and on this amount, this percentage is applied, resulting in a contribution of around €460, although this contribution base changes every year.
Of this total amount, 10% is allocated to the general branch and 12% to the self-employed worker’s retirement. However, self-employed workers who meet certain requirements specified by CASS may benefit from reductions and pay less monthly.