The collection of a decent pension towards the end of a professional career is the right to which every worker aspires. The Government of President Gustavo Petro urges national workers to prevent and regularize, if necessary, any detail regarding the pension process. For this, it provides facilities so that people who contribute to a pension can, if they wish, change the regime between the service offered by the State (known as Colpensiones) to private funds, or vice versa.
Choosing between one or another pension administration will depend on the interest or convenience of the worker with a view to what produces a better pension. It is a question not only of where or what the savings are being invested in, but of which pension scheme promises a better payout at the end of working life. Hence the importance of this decision. On the other hand, in accordance with Law 797 of 2003, it is a right to be able to choose between the private and public pension system based on the particular needs of each employee.
Colpensiones vs. private pensions in Colombia
The money from members of the Media Premium Regime (RPM), which is administered through Colpensiones, goes to a common fund to be allocated to those who meet the requirements to retire. The two most important conditions that workers enrolled in this regime must have in order to receive the monthly retirement payment are: reaching age (62 years in the case of men; 57 for women) and verifying 1,300 weeks of contributions as minimum.
The Individual Savings with Solidarity Regime (RAIS), in which the Pension Fund Administrators (AFP) companies operate, is the private option in which the individual contributions of workers generate interest. In other words, in addition to the money from their savings, members who decide to retire will receive the return that their money produced over time. The main requirement to access this modality is to have the ability to pay 110% of the minimum wage. Otherwise, the RAIS allows workers to request the minimum pension guarantee, for which they must meet the age standards stipulated by the Colombian Government and have contributed 1,150 weeks, which translates into just over 22 years of work.
Requirements to change the pension scheme in Colombia
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The transfer of savings from the public to the private system, or vice versa, is a free exercise to which the Colombian worker has the right. However, they must meet three requirements:
- Check for at least 5 years continuously affiliated with the system you want to leave.
- Request and verify having received advice from both regimes.
- Be at least 10 years from reaching the age allowed for the right to a pension.
What are the documents to carry out a pension transfer in Colombia?
In any case, whether you want to change to a private regime or opt for the public Colpensiones system, the worker must present an identification document and fill out the application with the data required by each instance.
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