This Thursday, January 16, the deadline agreed in the pension reform ends, for Colombians to choose their Administrator of the Complementary Component of Individual Savings, who will be in charge of managing labor savings in order to achieve a pension in old age and have a stable life after retiring.
The Accai, as they are also known, are the entities created so that those who have a monthly income above 2.3 SMMLV ($3,274,050 in 2025) save the surplus at that amount, since below that limit The contributions will necessarily go to Colpensiones, where a common savings fund will be created.
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For example, for a person who earns $5 million, contributions on the first $3.2 million (which marks the 2.3 minimum wages) will go to the common fund, while contributions on the remaining $1.7 million will be at the discretion of the workers, who will be able to put it in the Accai that best suits them.
That said, it was recently announced that Skandia, Porvenir, Protección and Colfondoswere the first firms endorsed by the Financial Superintendency to become Accai, after they met the requirements established in the reform, taking advantage of the experience they have as pension fund administrators (AFP).
Everything you need to know about the latest pension reform in Colombia.
On the other hand, in addition to salaries, this measure applies to men with less than 900 weeks and women with less than 750 weeks contributing to the General Pension System as of July 1, 2025, who will be part of the new Pension System, since they will not They managed to enter the transitional regime.
María Lorena Botero, Pension Benefits Manager at Porvenir, indicated that a good starting point is to review the experience of the Accai that you want to choose, in areas such as the administration of pension savings and their portfolios, the returns obtained, in addition to the service channels available for the attention of its affiliates.
“Law 2381 of 2024 established the Voluntary Pillar. This is one of the mechanisms available to make voluntary contributions and thus obtain a greater amount in the pension allowance at pension age. These voluntary contributions may also be used to complete the minimum weeks required for the pension, that is, these savings could be converted into weeks to achieve a better pension,” he indicated.
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How to choose?
Andrés Velasco, president of Asofondos, also joined to the debate and explained the key steps that Colombians must follow in the process of choosing their Acai, making it clear that it is best for others not to decide for one.
“If you have already made the decision that you want to continue in a fund, it is important to go to the website and validate the information. It is a process that is relatively simple, fast and free. So, if one has a defined preference for one of the four Accai, it is better to place it so one is enrolled in an AFP,” said Velasco.
The spokesperson for the private funds warned that although the system automatically assigns contributors who already have an AFP, people with a specific preference for one of the available Accai should leave it formally registered. taking advantage of the fact that it is a free, fast and accessible process for any user with an internet connection.
Pensioners
Likewise, he maintained that if the process is not completed before January 16, the Pension and Parafiscal Management Unit (UGPP) will assume the task of randomly assigning an Accai among the authorized administrators and that although no one will be left without coverage, they may not. match the expectations or needs of the contributor.
In the event that a member is not satisfied with the assigned Accai Randomly, Velasco explained that there is the possibility of changing administrators. This can be done six months after the initial assignment, allowing the process to be repeated until an option is found that best suits the contributor’s needs.
One of the mistakes not to be repeated in the future, according to Asofondos, is that Colombians had little time to choose an administrator. This, taking into account that the regulatory decree came out on December 30 and after that, the Government took a week to enable the funds that already exist and people had only one week to decide where they wanted to keep their savings.
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Colpensiones enters the game
The most important news of the moment in the pension system, waiting for the Accai deadline to be met, is the request that Colpensiones made to the Financial Superintendency, to be qualified as administrator and can become the fifth in the market, so as not to lose its savers.
According to sources consulted by Portafolio, the formal request was filed last Monday – January 13 – and now they are waiting for the control body to say whether or not it can operate in the pension market.
Colpensions
Likewise, Colpensiones reported that it works together with the private funds that were authorized by the Superfinanciera as Administrators of the Complementary Component of Individual Savings and warned that it will closely monitor the process, to guarantee that the rights of the workers are respected.
He also made it clear that these adjustments will not be immediate, since there is an established schedule, which will be implemented little by little, as agreed with the Congress of the Republic, so he suggested that Colombians be attentive to the announcements.
Meanwhile, the private pension funds continue to call on the National Government to issue as soon as possible the regulations that are pending for the entry into force of the reform, since there is less and less time left and The Constitutional Court is close to saying whether or not this regulation is viable.
