Sigrid Bazán: Labor and Social Security Commission will vote this afternoon on the reconsideration of the pension system reform forecast

The president of the Labor and Social Security Commission of the Congress, Sigrid Bazán, said she was optimistic in the vote for the reconsideration of the forecast, with which her working group seeks the pension reform.

Interviewed in LR+ Economía, the economic program of La República, Bazán said that the purpose of having a green light in the reconsideration is for the preliminary opinion to be discussed again, which will allow, like any project, to improve it, incorporate the comments of the legislators , among others.

“Today the reconsideration is voted on, we are sure that it will be approved, we are going to have the pre-dictum in vogue, under discussion, and that the response of the MEF, the Economic Commission and the proposals are the most responsible possible thinking of the citizen ”said.

The legislator emphasized that the pre-opinion of her commission is the conjunction of multiple proposals, which includes different variables, of 13 bills, which seek to benefit Peruvians so that everyone, at the time of retirement, has a pension.

For Sigrid Bazán “the AFP model does not work in the country, at least it does not work for those who do not have a pension or for those who have very low pensions, or simply cannot access a decent life after having worked. And the most widely used model, not only in OECD countries but throughout the world, is the multipillar model. We are considering a criterion of universality, ”she pointed out.

—How many pillars does the proposal that is being worked on in the Commission that you preside have?

—It is a pyramid that has three pillars at its base. The first is the base, and I think that the one we have is in common with the MEF proposal, and it is the universal pension for the people who need it the most. Of course there are requirements as with any pension, 15 years of contributions, a minimum retirement pension of 65 years. But this base includes two social programs that already exist and orders them in the new pension system, which are Pension 65, which is aimed at the elderly and most in need, and “Contigo” which is a pension program for people with disabilities. . On that basis, a budget item would have to be added because we are going to cover all those who are not in Pension 65 and in the Contigo program. That is our base that allows us universality, and the requirement that we have set is that it be at least the equivalent of the basic personal basket of between S/ 420 to S/ 450.

—What is the bare minimum to live?

-Correct. And this is financed entirely by the State, as it does with Pensión 65 and the Contigo program, only that everyone will be covered.

—And the second pillar?

— We have incorporated a part for dependents, people on payroll, etc. and a part for the self-employed, which involves entrepreneurs with their business and also involves the non-formal sector. Many will have some complication with the non-formal sector which, furthermore, some stigmatize and say that they are non-formal because they want to be, when reality is not so simple. In this second pillar, not only the State contributes, in fact, the State contributes only 1% here. Who contributes is the worker, the employer and the State. The three of them share in this second pillar of a solidarity nature that is intended to meet the universality criteria, you already have your pension insured in pillar 1, which is from S/ 420 to S/ 450 and in the second pillar, the worker contributes less of what he does now. Currently, the ONP and the AFP contribute between 12.9% and 13%, which is what the worker contributes. In our reform we are talking about 8% and the employer would contribute 4%. And there we want to make a caveat, because we know that all employers are not large companies, there are micro and medium-sized companies and there would be progressivity, from 2% or 1% to 4%. And finally, a 1% that would be co-financed by the State, which gives an incentive to the non-formal to enter formality and contribute to this system, because for the non-formal the contribution is voluntary, but with the co-financing of the State the percentage that contributes the non-formal, the State will also accompany.

—And the third pillar?

—The third pillar, and this is where the AFPs come in, because we want to clarify that we are not seeking to make the AFPs disappear.

—And it is that it is being said that with the proposal they want to make the AFPs disappear…

—You have to be tough with the AFPs and they are doing it wrong, but as private companies they have the right to compete. And in the third pillar would be the public managers, say the ONP, and the private managers, read the different AFPs that now there are only four.

—But what is the third pillar looking for?

—This last pillar seeks that people who earn 5 Minimum Vital Wages, 5 minimum wages or more, can contribute 9% of that surplus to this last pillar. And here the AFPs will be able to do what they know best, individual savings accounts, where your account is capitalized there and you can see your money yourself. It is no longer the solidarity character of pillar 2, it is no longer the base character of pillar 1, it is for those who earn 5 RMV or more and it is important to state two criteria for this reform proposal that I believe is fundamental: For those who have 45 years and over is no longer mandatory, they already have their savings, they already have their pension, they are not going to be touched, they are not going to be expropriated, they are not going to be nationalized. What one has, after reaching 46 years of age, is theirs, it simply adjusts depending on their earnings, on their status, to pillar 1 or pillar 2 and for those who are under 45 years of age, if they earn more than 5 RMV they can choose the public or private sector.