Arbeleche: Social security reform guarantees sustainability and equity
“The changes to the social security regime promoted by the Government promote a more equitable, just and sustainable system, without any drop in retirement and with a greater contribution for those with less income,” said Minister Azucena Arbeleche, after attending a session Parliamentary session on Pension Reform. She was accompanied by Minister Pablo Mieres and the head of the Social Security Commission, Rodolfo Saldain.
They participated together with the Minister of Economy and Finance, the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Pablo Mieres; the director of the Office of Planning and Budget (OPP), Isaac Alfie; the president of the Banco de Previsión Social (BPS), Alfredo Cabrera, and the head of the Commission of Experts on Social Security, Rodolfo Saldain.
After a presentation made by the Executive authorities, Arbeleche and Mieres spoke at a press conference in the conference room of the Legislative Palace.
The Minister of Economy explained that, due to the demographic characteristics of Uruguay, such as a low birth rate and a longer life expectancy, spending on retirements, if the current regime continued, would increase and reach, according to projections of social security experts, 1.3% of the gross domestic product in 2050 and 2% in 2060.
He indicated that, given the prospect of growing spending, a response other than raising taxes or contributions, both personal and employer, to finance the system should be considered, since that would imply great difficulties for the development of the country and the generation of income. employment. He considered that the answer must be to contain spending without burdening the new generations with more taxes, and that the reform presented responds to that.
With this change, it is sought that the current system is sustainable from an economic point of view, that is, that it can be maintained over time without any drop in pensions, he asserted.
Thought for the good of the next generations
Mieres, meanwhile, stressed that the bill seeks to provide responses in the medium term to the main problems of the social security system. In addition, it is a balanced proposal for a gradual transformation with the objective of consecrating the principle of equity, through the convergence of the different subsystems, he affirmed.
He also assured that this reform guarantees, by virtue of the incorporation of the solidarity supplement, an improvement for the lowest pensions, with respect to the current values.
The hierarch clarified that the retirement reality of people over 50 years of age will not undergo any modification. In addition, he specified that, for minors of that age, the new regime proposes extending the time of retirement gradually up to 65, due to the demographic characteristics of the country. He added that future generations will work longer, but will earn the same or better than the current system, particularly those with lower pensions. “We are convinced that it is a project that is designed for the good of the next generations”, he considered.
He also mentioned that the reform is one of the Government’s priority projects, a commitment from all the coalition parties, which emerged from a great dialogue and the participation of all the actors involved.
