The Mutuality of Lawyers – which now presents itself under the name Mutualidad – is experiencing one of the most crucial moments in its history. The professional insurer faces the imminent approval of a law that will allow certain mutual members to transfer their savings to the public system, through a “gateway” to the special regime for self-employed workers. The entity is preparing to adapt to the new legislative framework with a strategic plan that seeks to maintain its solvency and continue growing, even if the law ends up putting an end to its role as a private alternative to Social Security, a function it has performed since 1948. The law has already passed the amendment period and has entered parliamentary processing. If it is finally approved, in the worst scenario the Mutual Society will have to assume the departure of 60,000 mutual members and the loss of 3,000 million euros of managed savings, a third of the total. Despite this, the insurer is not giving up. “The Mutual Society is safe and stronger than ever,” states Enrique Sanz Fernández-Lomana (Valladolid, 1952), president of the entity, authoritatively during an interview with EL PAÍS. Currently, the insurer manages more than 11.5 billion euros. In the event that the self-employed switch to the public system, the entity will continue to have a volume of 8,000 million. The president is in favor of the gateway, but disagrees that the Mutual Society stops being an alternative to the public system from 2027, as the Executive intends. “It is a very efficient public-private collaboration instrument whose maintenance does not harm anyone,” says the manager. “It allows each mutual member, starting from legally established minimums, to design their retirement based on their possibilities throughout their professional life,” he explains. Far from adopting a pessimistic view, the insurer has reacted quickly to the looming legislative earthquake. Its objective is not only to compensate for the possible departure of mutual members into the public system, but also to expand its social base in the coming years through alliances with new groups such as economists, journalists or other related professions. «The life of a company is in growth, and in one of foresight, I won’t even tell you. In the same way that mutualists leave, mutualists must enter,» responds the president. Mutualidad’s new strategic plan contemplates increasing the number of members from the current 210,000 to 226,000 in 2028, an ambitious goal taking into account the potential flight of mutual members towards Social Security. Faced with this scenario, the manager clarifies that, despite a significant departure of professionals, the insurer will not create obstacles. “We have no interest in retaining anyone who does not feel comfortable in the Mutual Society, but we will help them make the best decision.” Aware of the challenge ahead, the president is committed to strengthening the base first before looking outside. “Our primary and immediate objective is to try to reach all groups in the legal profession, whether large offices or sectoral associations.” The idea is that salaried lawyers, who contribute to Social Security, have additional pension or retirement savings coverage. In short, the president summarizes, the aim is to “make all areas of the profession permeable, in some way.” Added to this expansion of the legal world is the possibility of incorporating other mutual societies, as already happened in 2019 with the integration of the Engineers Mutual Society. «We will analyze the proposals that arrive, and if they are good, we will try to incorporate them; and if not, we will look for the most suitable instruments or agreements to help us become bigger,» says the manager. The entity has 600 million euros of liquidity to invest in strategic operations.
In the eye of the hurricane
The criticism of some mutualists has resonated strongly in the entity. Two weeks ago, Madrid hosted a massive demonstration of lawyers, attorneys and architects who demanded decent pensions, which in many cases barely reach 400 euros. Some of the protesters accuse the insurance company of not having properly informed them of the bases for having a higher retirement income. The president flatly denies it. “The Mutual Society of Lawyers has been extremely transparent,” he defends. “Since 2005 [año en que la aseguradora pasó de un sistema de capitalización colectiva a uno individual] We hold assemblies in all the schools, we individually notify the mutual members and report four times a year on the contributions, the profitability obtained, the management expenses and the risk coverage,» he argues. The president recalls that they even launched a personalized program, Plan 75, to contact the mutual members directly. «We called 25,000 people, but only 15% decided to increase their contributions,» he laments. «No. I blame no one for anything, but I believe that we have taken real actions to ensure that the information was transparent and sufficient, precisely, so that the retirement capital could be greater,» he says. And he adds: «we have done what corresponded to us: provide the information. We can go that far.» While waiting for the legislative ups and downs that the catwalk may bring, the president prefers to look to the future with optimism. «I believe that crises arise opportunities to grow, be better and provide ourselves with greater resources,» he points out. With a solvency ratio of 250%, the manager sticks out his chest. «The confidence that we are perceiving is absolute, I have no doubt that this crisis will help us achieve a much greater mutuality strong, powerful and reliable for 2028.”