06/28/2024
“I want the signing of this law to be done in the Plaza de Bolívar on July 16, I will wait for you there”said President Gustavo Petro, calling citizens to the square to witness the sanction of the Pension Reform.
He said this in Soacha, where the president said that “we are reducing subsidies to two population groups and increasing their amounts to $230 thousandto lift one person out of poverty” and extend it to 2 million older adults.
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It must be remembered that Congress approved this article at the end of the last legislature, and it contemplates increases in pension subsidies for the elderly and recognition for women who dedicated themselves to their homesas noted by Petro during the launch of the PAS (Solidarity Supply Points) project in Soacha.
He also mentioned that, upon passing the law, Injustices can be corrected, such as those of “many mothers and grandmothers who dedicated their lives to building a home.” and that this sexist society does not recognize them as work, nor does it count in economic statistics, and the time dedicated to raising sons and daughters is not counted towards a pension.”
Therefore, he said: “I ask the Constitutional Court not to listen to the enemies of the people, who do not want the money that we are going to spend on the lives of 3 million people and in the right of each worker to retire, it is given to the people and not converted into profits for the bankers.”
He also stated that “this begins giving public money to those who had the right to retire for having worked all their lives and who today survive by selling Bon Ice in cold or hot squares.”
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He emphasized that “this law that has just been approved is the true construction of the social State of law, and the Constitutional Court, created by the Constituent Assembly of 1991, has the task of monitoring and making this State of law a reality.”
In this context, he considered that “Pension money cannot go to the bankers’ wealth, it must go to our elderly and workersso that they can live their last years with dignity.”
It should be noted that, Starting July 1, 2025, Colombia will implement a new pension system, whose key is universal affiliationthat is, all workers will be affiliated with Colpensiones, based on the threshold of 2.3 minimum wages. Above that limit, these savings will be contributed to private pension funds.
There will also be a pillar scheme, which is based on four structures to guarantee access to pensionseven without meeting minimum requirements, such as solidarity, semi-contributory, contributory and individual savings. In addition, the administration of a pension fund, which will have a committee of experts to manage the resources of the contributors, and thus guarantee profitability and avoid their use for other purposes.
Continue reading: ‘No one gives a peso for Colpensiones’: experts warn that it is not prepared for the new pension system
