A retired worker in Luxembourg has said she has returned to work illegally aged 65, as her monthly income in retirement is too low to live on despite four decades of social security contributions.<\/p>\n
Maria \u2013 not her real name, as she wishes to remain anonymous \u2013 explained her situation to Contacto on a Sunday afternoon, the only day she has managed to find space in her diary to talk.<\/p>\n
Maria arrived in Luxembourg from Portugal in 1992, and worked up until she took early retirement at age 60. “I was told I had 40 years’ service, but not the required age. I didn’t really understand why, just that I could retire,” she said. <\/p>\n
In all, she has 40 years of social security contributions, including 13 years working full time in Portugal. However, the pension she is receiving today only relates to the 15 years she worked for various cleaning companies in Luxembourg. <\/p>\n
“Maybe I’ll start receiving my pension from Portugal this year. As for the deductions I made during the 12 years I worked in Capellen, they were considered as if I had made them in Brussels and so they were paid to me in one go,” she said. “I couldn’t find anyone to guide me. Maybe that’s why I get what I get today.” <\/p>\n
Receiving \u20ac1,100 per month in retirement, \u20ac500 of which goes to pay a loan on a house she built in Portugal, Maria decided she had no choice but to return to work aged 65.<\/p>\n
The difference is that now there are no calculated overtime hours or payslips \u2013 just an envelope with money “under the table”, without deductions.<\/p>\n
Back to work after retirement<\/p>\n
Her routine usually starts at 5:00, when she gets up to catch the bus to Luxembourg City. On Mondays, she wakes up even earlier, at 4:00, because an hour later she needs to catch the bus to Canach, in the south-east of the country. <\/p>\n
She works there for four hours, from 7:00 to 11:00, before heading to her second job in Steinsel. On the other days, the pattern is repeated at other addresses and at different times. <\/p>\n
The routine usually starts at 5:00, when he gets up to catch the bus to Gare du Luxembourg. On Mondays, she wakes up even earlier, at 4:00, because she has to be on the bus to Canach by 5:00 (illustrative image)\u00a0\u00a9 Photo credit: Marc Wilwert<\/p>\n
With these jobs and what she earns in retirement, she manages to make ends meet and put some money aside. “But I deprive myself of a lot. I’ve made a big effort to put money aside,” she said. <\/p>\n
When she arrived in Luxembourg with two young daughters, she only had a few of her husband’s relatives living in the country. <\/p>\n
Her first job was in a Portuguese caf\u00e9 in Mersch, where she worked as a cook for five years. She then moved into the cleaning sector, where she spent around 15 years. “I always worked officially and with the appropriate deductions,” she explained.<\/p>\n
Later, she got a job with a large European organisation in Capellen, where she worked for 12 years, also as a cleaner. She earned \u20ac3,000 net and was happy with her contract. <\/p>\n
40 years of pension contributions, but an insufficient pension<\/p>\n
While she was earning \u20ac3,000 monthly, Maria managed to pay off her mortgage \u2013 although she has since taken out other loans on the property \u2013 and handle her day-to-day expenses. However, now, with around \u20ac1,100 \u2013 a figure that only increased two years ago, as before she received \u20ac900 \u2013 it’s much more difficult to manage. <\/p>\n
If her Portuguese pension arrives \u2013 and if it brings the total amount to close to \u20ac2,000 \u2013 Maria said she may finally be able to stop working and “enjoy her long-awaited retirement”. <\/p>\n
While she was working, Maria earned \u20ac3,000 per month net, with which she was able to pay off the loan on her house and cover her day-to-day expenses. Now, with a pension of about \u20ac1,100, managing her money has become more difficult.\u00a0\u00a9 Photo credit: Shutterstock<\/p>\n
Husband didn’t adapt and returned to Portugal<\/p>\n
Maria\u2019s husband, who worked in a factory in Luxembourg for just six months, didn’t adapt to his new country and decided to return to Portugal, where he remains today. He has also retired. <\/p>\n
“It was difficult living together, but apart. There was also the problem of social judgement: people don’t look favourably on a woman who lives alone,” she said.<\/p>\n
Maria considers that the biggest investment she made was building her house on land she bought before emigrating. <\/p>\n
She had to take out several bank loans, the first for \u20ac20,000, when she was still working in Mersch. “When I’d finished paying, I’d ask for another loan, and so on until I’d finished building. Now I have two years left to pay it off,” she said.<\/p>\n
However, she regrets having applied for loans in stages, because the interest rates have been rising. In Luxembourg, she lives with her eldest daughter, aged 46, her son-in-law and two grandchildren in Dudelange. <\/p>\n
The house belongs to her daughter and was bought with a bank loan, with Maria as guarantor. “I can’t rent or buy a house here,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
She contributes to household expenses such as water and electricity, and also helps out her youngest daughter, 41, the mother of a one-year-old baby. <\/p>\n
On average, Maria does 23 hours of cleaning a week, divided between four houses, earning \u20ac17 an hour. Her husband, also retired, helps with the expenses. <\/p>\n
Dreams of retiring to Portugal<\/p>\n
Maria doesn\u2019t have any criticisms of the companies she’s worked for. She is grateful both for the country, which she considers to be open to immigrants, and for the people who have worked with her during her career. <\/p>\n
“Life hasn’t been easy for me, but I have the country to thank. When you arrive in a place where you are welcomed, regardless of the culture shock, language differences and climate, you have to be grateful. I’ve always been welcomed,” she said. <\/p>\n
Maria said she recognises that undeclared work is wrong, so she doesn’t want to continue doing it for too long. She has put some money aside to return to Portugal and enjoy the house she has worked to build. <\/p>\n
This is the second time Maria has planned to return for good, but this time has faith that she\u2019ll make it. She said that she still has the health and strength to continue working, but when she returns to Portugal, she wants to take some time to rest. “If only for two years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n