Withdrawal of funds from the AFPs will return to the debate in Congress

There are already 11 bills presented in the Congress that seek to authorize a new withdrawal from the AFPs; The last one is from José Luna Gálvez (Podemos Peru) who proposes that up to S/19,800 (4 UIT) be available.

The initiatives presented by congressmen from different benches respond to the clamor of hundreds of families who have seen their economies diminished cause of inflation, especially in food, and the climate crisis.

social demand

In the first quarter of the year, the average income in Lima was S/1,841, which in real terms is 11% below what was registered before the pandemic, according to the Central Reserve Bank (BCRP).

While the GDP has fallen in two consecutive quarters, confirming the technical recession, for which reason specialists point out that with luck we will close the year at 1%, which translates into fewer jobs and an increase in poverty.

For Lilia Doris Oriarepresentative of the National Association of Contributors and Exporters of Peru (ANAEA-AFP), in this context, it cannot be denied that affiliates need to dispose of their money above all because many of them will not have a decent pension.

“A good number of affiliates do not even have S/40,000 in their funds and they are of an age at which they will not be able to contribute enough to have a pension of S/200,” he explains.

In that line, Gabriel Bustamante Sanchezpresident of the Association of Insurance Consumers and Users (Acuse), recalls that the Constitutional Court (TC) in a recent ruling stated that the withdrawals are not unconstitutional, and adds that the AFPs have been “stealing” millions for commissions applied to your favor.

“The rate to manage what the AFP commissions is 1.69%. But in these 29 years they have been charging 1.69% of the total salary, when what they are really going to manage is 10%. For example, if you earn S/2,000, the rate should be over S/200, but it is not. In this way they have been stealing from us an average income from commissions of S / 1,400 million ”, he points out.

According to Bustamente, this money is used to strengthen the salaries of the managers and presidents of these companies.

positions

The withdrawal of 4 UIT could mean the departure of S/24,000 million and benefit 5 million people, according to the latest initiative.

However, the president of the Economic Commission, Cesar Revilla (Popular Force), confirmed to this medium that these proposals will be debated during his term, but with a technical perspective. For his part, the head of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), Alex Contreras, considers that the proposal is “populist.”

It should be noted that a similar debate was held in the neighboring country of Chile at the beginning of the year; however, the Legislature ended up voting against the measure that could return to the agenda in 2024.

More players in the pension market

Luna Galvéz’s bill includes members being able to transfer 100% of their funds in the AFPs to other entities.

“It should be considered to open the market and allow companies in the sector to provide pension products and, being long-term deposits, they would generate a higher compensation rate,” the document specifies.

The accounts will be characterized by being unseizable, without commissions and with coverage of the Deposit Insurance Fund.

The word

Approach. César Revilla, President of the Economic Commission

“The opinion of the affiliates will also be included in the debate. We are going to determine with them the real number of beneficiaries and how many have 4 UIT in their accounts to withdraw”.

Despite withdrawals, the AFP have continued to win