“Now seriously: Have you already checked if they are in the transition regime?”, asked Juliana Morad, co-director of the Javeriana Labor Observatory.
He wrote this on his X profile, formerly Twitter, to invite people to review their work history and find out whether or not they enter the so-called transition regime of the new pension system.
This is because the pension reform in Colombia, recently approved, establishes a transitional regime to protect rights of those contributors who are approaching the pension age under the rules of the previous system, contemplated in Law 100.
This special regime allows people who comply with certain requirements for weeks of contributions to access their pension under the rules prior to the reformeven if they do not meet the required minimum age.
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Article 75 describes it this way: for women with 750 weeks of contributions and men with 900 weeks of contributions when this Comprehensive Social Protection System for Old Age comes into forceLaw 100 of 1993 will continue to apply, including its modifications, repeals or replacements.
The weeks contributed to any pension scheme under Law 100 of 1993 will be counted.whether Solidarity Media Premium (Colpensiones), Individual Savings with Solidarity (private funds), to the Social Security Institute, or in any public or private fund, fund or entity, as well as the time of service as public servants.
For those who do not comply with 750 weeks of contributions (women) or 900 weeks of contributions (men), the new law will apply. EL COLOMBIANO presents an ABC of the transition regime.
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Who can access the transition regime?
1. Men with 900 weeks of contributions or more: Regardless of their age, men who have contributed at least 900 weeks before July 1, 2025 will be able to access their pension under the rules of the previous system.
2. Women with 750 weeks of contributions or more: Like men, women who have contributed at least 750 weeks before July 1, 2025 will be able to retire under the pre-reform rules, regardless of their age.
Please note that Colombians who have contributed abroad, either voluntarily or under international social security agreements, may benefit from the transition regime. if they add up to the minimum weeks required. The Ministry of Labor and Colpensiones will define how to verify these weeks of contributions during the transition period.
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Who cannot access the transition regime?
According to Asofondos, About 60% of Colombians reach less than 300 weeks. They are about 4.5 million of the 7.5 million adults over 60 years of age.
Therefore, Those people who do not meet the minimum requirements for contributed weeks established for the transition regime (900 weeks for men and 750 weeks for women) will automatically enter the new pillar system of the pension reform: solidarity, semi-contributory, contributory and individual savings.
To retire under this new system, they must meet the age and contribution requirements established in the reform.
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Is it possible to access an early pension?
Article 37 of the approved reform says: “To members who are not in the transition regime and who turn 62 years old if they are a woman or 65 years old if they are a man after the entry into force of this law and that after making use of the actuarial equivalence system established in this law, they do not meet the minimum weeks to access the old-age pension of the contributory pillar and who have more than 1,000 weeks of contributions, they will be able to enjoy the early old-age benefit.”
Is it important to keep in mind that this transition regime is temporary?
Yeah, The transition regime will only apply to those contributors who meet the requirements before July 1, 2025. From that date, the new rules of the pension reform will come into force for all contributors, without exception.
What should people who are approaching pension age do?
Everyone approaching pension age is advised to review their particular situation and consult with a pension expert. to determine if they meet the requirements to access the transition regime or if they must apply to the new pillar system of the pension reform.
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Who has the opportunity to transfer?
According to article 76 of the reform, If you are a woman and have 750 weeks of contributions, or a man and have 900 weeks of contributions, and you are less than ten years away from pension age, you have two years from the date this law is enacted to change the regime. This change must be made with the double advice mentioned in Law 1748 of 2014.
Note that The money in the individual savings accounts of those who take advantage of this change will continue to be managed by the Pension Fund Administrators until the comprehensive old-age pension or the pension from the previous regime is consolidated.
More details to keep in mind
For Diego Acevedo, labor lawyer at Holland & Knight, When calculating the weeks, all the weeks contributed to any of the pension schemes, at any time, will be taken into account.either through Colpensiones or a private fund, fund, public or private sector entity, as well as the time of service as public servants.
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“In relation to these transitional regimes, it is common that after the date of entry into force, situations begin to arise that will make it necessary for the figure to be decantedFor example, the way the weeks are counted, according to guidelines defined by the Labor Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice,” Acevedo said.
The lawyer insisted that The count of weeks will be determined by the date of entry into force of the pension reform (July 1, 2025)this would imply that people can accumulate weeks, for the purposes of the transition regime, until said date.
