The social security reform is necessary, supportive and sustainable, said President Luis Lacalle Pou, announcing the completion of the draft law for the reform of social security. He added that the initiative benefits people with lower pensions and enables them to work after retirement. “It is an act of national responsibility and we are not going to leave it to the next government,” he said.
The announcement was made on the afternoon of Thursday 20, in the Executive Tower, at a press conference in which the president was accompanied by the Secretary of the Presidency, Álvaro Delgado; the assistant secretary, Rodrigo Ferrés; the director of the Office of Planning and Budget (OPP), all the ministers that make up the Government and the president of the Commission of Experts on Social Security, Rodolfo Saldain.
“This situation is an act of national responsibility, it is a necessary reform,” said Lacalle Pou regarding the project that must now be approved by the Legislative Power and that includes some 30 proposals. The text was signed this Thursday by the president in the Council of Ministers.
He also explained that if the country does not carry out a reform in the coming years, the social security system, pensions and retirement benefits of Uruguayans will become unviable. The projection of spending and the deficit in the next 40 or 50 years is “enormous” and that is supported by the “pocket of the Uruguayans”, therefore, this reform is necessary, and with each passing day the situation worsens still more, he warned.
The president added that it is a sustainable reform, with a process that will take 20 years of transition, and that the effects will not be seen, at least, in the next two governments.
Lacalle Pou argued that the project implies a “deep dose of solidarity”, with the lowest pensions, which will mostly increase when the new regime comes into force. Likewise, he pointed out that there will be a special treatment that increases the benefits for families that include children with disabilities.
With this reform “every peso that is contributed will be collected,” he said. Another element is the possibility of retiring and working at the same time, since the new regime will legitimize retired people so that they can continue their performance in the world of work, he specified.
“We are convinced that it is a necessary, sustainable and supportive reform”, stated the president, and valued the fact that it will not be “left to the next government”. He also expressed his satisfaction with the reach of an agreement with the coalition of parties that makes up the current government.
“It is a project that can be perfected,” said Lacalle Pou, adding that he is open to receiving proposals from Parliament for possible changes, as long as they keep the characteristics of necessity, sustainability, and solidarity.
The president expressed his hope that Parliament will make adjustments and that the project be approved as soon as possible, for which there is a commitment to move quickly, he said. Likewise, he highlighted the long process of discussion for the elaboration of the project, during two years, with representatives of all political parties, experts and social organizations.
For Lacalle Pou, the reform has no political cost. It is an “act of national responsibility” that consists of “fulfilling an ethical duty.”
One of the characteristics of the reform is that it includes all the social security subsystems: the Retirement and Pension Service of the Armed Forces, the National Police Assistance and Social Security Directorate (Police Fund), the Bank Retirement and Pension Fund, the Retirement and Pension Fund for University Professionals and contributors to the Social Welfare Bank, detailed
Saldain, meanwhile, explained that another of the reform’s virtues is its supportive component. Retirees under the new system will receive higher minimum pensions than the current ones, through the solidarity supplement, a formula that will be applied to all pensions of up to 42,000 pesos. This formula implies that the lower the pension, the greater the supplement that the person receives.
Likewise, the expert stated that families that include children with disabilities will also benefit. Two additional years may be computed with a maximum of five in the case of severe disability.
