According to Petro, the Pension Reform filed this March 22 will expand the coverage of the system and will benefit the elderly in extreme poverty.
President Gustavo Petro affirmed this Wednesday that the ‘Change for Old Age’ Pension Reform project, filed this March 22 in the Congress of the Republic, is a commitment to the well-being of the old men and women of Colombia, because it is a way to build peace in the country.
However, this government project has been objected to by institutions such as ANIF, which indicates that this reform, As it is proposed, it would deal a strong blow to savings, to fiscal sustainability and would put the possibility of paying future pensions at high risk.s.
But, according to the president, “in that discussion that has to do with people, with lives, with rights, also with profits and with the world circumstances that must be included here, will be the discussion of this Bill. I would bet on the old and the old, which is a way to build peace in Colombia.
When accompanying the filing of this Bill, which took place in the Constitution Room of the Senate, the president highlighted the “social objective” of the pension initiative and said that, if approved, a life annuity will be assigned to people who They could not retire, especially the old men and women of the country.
“The pension project has a social objective that gradually every older person, man or woman, who completes their working hours and their age, has a pension. Additionally, recognizing that a good part -six out of ten older adults today do not have any access to a pension or a pension bonus-, they can have access to a minimum income that gives dignity to their lives ”, she emphasized.
The president also spoke of the concept of universality that the Bill brings. In this sense, he highlighted the intervention of the Minister of Labor, Gloria Inés Ramírez, who preceded him in the use of the word, in the sense that the solidarity pillar of the initiative will apply to all those over 65 in the country and will cover 2,596,098 people who correspond to the vulnerable population.
The president also referred to the pension project as a law designed for women “who are the majority of workers who need recognition of their contribution to the country’s wealth.” “Giving that right to an already old person, for her work, for her contribution to the wealth of a nation, giving her that right to live with dignity, is undoubtedly a beautiful discussion,” he specified.
Noting that Congress “has gained importance in the discussion of key and strategic issues” of the country, the president said that the pension legislation approved more than thirty years ago must be reviewed and updated to the new reality of the country.
The laws of 1993 did not keep their promises (…) This is the time to look differently. And the rights of the people cannot be guaranteed without the State, ”he said.
The pillars of the project
Among the main benefits, according to the government, that the Pension Reform submitted to the Legislature for consideration this Wednesday would leave for Colombian workers are:
• The project is committed to being a pioneer in closing gender gaps, since it proposes a reduction of almost one year for each child and with a maximum of 150 weeks, to compensate for care work and guaranteeing that women retire with a fair pension.
• The solidarity pillar will apply to all those over 65 in the country and will cover 2,596,098 people who correspond to the vulnerable population. This population will be granted an income of $223,800, equivalent to the extreme poverty threshold projected for 2024.
• A life annuity will be assigned to people who could not retire, but who have weeks quoted in Colpensiones or savings in their individual account of a Pension Fund Administrator (AFP).
• The parameters to recognize the old age pension, such as age, weeks and replacement rate are maintained.
• Disability and survivor pensions remain the same, with the same requirements, but now they will be recognized by Colpensiones.
• Acquired rights will be respected, which means that pensioners maintain the same conditions.