The large Spanish banks compete with other firms in the country for one of the largest financial contracts of the year, that of managing the new pension fund for construction workers, which has a value of close to 3,000 million euros and is the largest of a private nature to date.
The new fund will serve to supplement the pensions of nearly 1.3 million workers, including employees and the self-employed, and its implementation is a novelty. To choose the entity in charge of managing the fund, the construction employers' association CNC and the unions UGT and CC.OO. They have hired the American consultancy Mercer, which already has experience in Spain as an adviser to pension funds such as that of Banco Sabadell employees. VidaCaixa is one of the largest pension managers in Spain and is in a good position to win the contract. Santander also stands out in this area.
Business sources indicate that the consultant has sounded out the interest of Spanish entities, to which it has sent a form with 900 questions. It has already drawn up a list of 14 candidates along with their recommendations, which it will send to employers and unions so that, between this month and next, they can choose the winner.
The management of this fund is yet to be defined and no model has been ruled out, not even the usual one in many European countries, the United States or Canada, where workers' pensions can be invested occasionally in companies. An outstanding example, although with a much larger volume, is the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, with interests in Repsol, Cellnex or Iberdrola.
The money will come from the salary increases agreed in the seventh collective agreement for construction, which will be 4% for 2022, 3% for 2023 and 3% for 2024. As an example, in the case of the increase in the 2022, 3% corresponds directly to salary and 1% to the new pension fund. The forecast is to reach 3,000 million after ten years.
Construction will be the first sector to test the regulation approved last year by the Government to facilitate these plans and provide a supplement to the public pension. Apart from choosing the manager, the employers' association and the unions are waiting for the publication of the internal operating regulations of the new fund, which they expect to know imminently.
The instrument will benefit both the workers of the six large construction companies, which are ACS, Acciona, Ferrovial, Sacyr, OHLA and FCC, as well as those of the small ones. According to INE data, the contribution of construction to the national GDP is around 5%.
A worker with a salary of 20,000 euros in 2021 will have saved 35,000 euros in this way after 25 years.
