Congress is considering legislation to reform Colombia’s public pension system. The existing system allows members to choose between a state-run defined benefit plan (Régimen de Prima Media – RPM) and an individual defined contribution savings account plan (Régimen de Ahorro Individual con Solidaridad – RAIS) managed by private pension fund administrators (Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones – AFPs). If approved, Bill 293 on the Comprehensive Social Protection System for Old Age would establish three state benefit pillars, which would replace the RPM and RAIS plans, complemented by a fourth voluntary pillar for higher-income earners.
The four pension pillars would be:
Individuals with 1,000 or more weeks of insured employment would continue to receive a pension based on the existing RPM/RAIS system. Death and long-term disability pensions would be largely unchanged in terms of eligibility and benefits provided, except that the state pension agency Colpensiones would assume responsibility for administering all benefits for the first three pillars.
In a related development, the government confirmed it is developing legislation in response to a recent Constitutional Court ruling that the requirement for women to have 1,300 of weeks of insured employment (the same as men) in order to claim a RPM pension is a form of indirect discrimination. The court set a deadline of January 1, 2026, for the government to pass legislation addressing the ruling.
The bill would establish a meaningful minimum pension level for all Colombian citizens, partially funded by increased contributions from employees earning over four times the MMW. It would also greatly reduce the role of the AFPs in managing and providing retirement benefits, replaced by state management. Few surveyed companies (9%) offer supplemental retirement benefits to their employees, and the bill does not provide any incentives that would encourage more companies to do so.