The government representatives presented information that contains projections related to future retirement amounts, “which will be higher than those that currently exist,” said the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Pablo Mieres, after the meeting. In the subsequent press conference held in the annex of the Legislative Palace, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Azucena Arbeleche; the director of the Office of Planning and Budget (OPP), Isaac Alfie, the president of the Commission of Experts on Social Security, Rodolfo Saldain, the president of the Banco de Previsión Social (BPS), Alfredo Cabrera; and legislators from the government coalition.
In any scenario, the average retirement will grow between 18 and 20%, with the new regime, according to the technical document of the actuarial team of the Social Welfare Bank (BPS) presented to legislators. People who retire through the new regime will have access to retirement assets whose amounts will be maintained or increased, therefore, the express will of the Executive Power is reflected, indicated Mieres.
The document also includes among its conclusions the strong growth in the first four deciles or two first quintiles of income, towards the year 2043.
Likewise, around 2070 and compared to the reform project, which extends the retirement age to 65, against 60 years of the current regime, in any scenario of adjustment of the base value of the solidarity supplement, the average retirement grows 15%, the document adds. In addition, in all representative cases of the 5 income quintiles of BPS contributors, retirement increases or is maintained, if the same comparison is taken into account.
Mieres explained that the number of years of contributions required to access the retirement pension does not change, since it will continue to be 30 years. He assured that “this is an equity reform, which seeks to support the weakest”, and added that “the 40% of the lowest pensioners will have the highest increases in the new regime with respect to the current one”.
On the other hand, he informed that, once the reform is in effect, people who are currently retired will enjoy the right to return to work, being retired.
Saldain, meanwhile, explained that the study presented to legislators contains real data from the BPS. He maintained that the result of this work shows that, in any of the scenarios that have been worked on, the average retirement increases, and it does so substantially in the lower income sectors.
According to the expert, sustainability, which is “essential” for the pension system, will be obtained by working on improving the asset-liability ratio, proposing a change in the retirement age, but maintaining the amount of the benefit.
broad front
From the Broad Front, there is a coincidence in rejecting in general terms the initiative of the government of Luis Lacalle Pou. However, there are sectors that are willing to support some of the articles and others that want to vote against each article. The different sectors that make up the Broad Front agree that the cost of the reform “falls on the workers” and that there must be a “contribution” from the companies, said a leader of the coalition. A commission works in the search of agreements on the text that will be approved by the Plenary this coming Saturday. In addition, the Front will define whether it mandates its legislators to comply with what the body resolves. The social security reform project will be considered next month in the plenary session of the Senate, after processing in the special commission.
Arana was declared an Illustrious Citizen
Last night at the Solís Theater, the mayor, Carolina Cosse, presented Mariano Arana with the distinction as Illustrious Citizen of Montevideo. The councilors of the Broad Front bench in the period that integrated it 2015-2020 participated in the ceremony.
