The Retirement Fund Administrators (Afores) will have a period of 60 days from the constitution of the Fund to transfer the US$ 2,333.8 million of unclaimed savings in inactive accounts.
The plenary session of the Senate of Mexico approved in general and particular the opinion by which three laws are reformed to create the Pension Fund for Wellbeing, which will be financed with US$ 2,333.8 million from savings of people aged 70 or older. more whose Afores accounts are inactive and have not been claimed.
With this, the decree concluded the legislative process and was already sent to the federal Executive for publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) and entry into force.
Once it is published, the operating rules of the Fund must be defined in the following 60 days and only until then will the Fund be established.
The Retirement Fund Administrators (Afores) will have a period of 60 days from the constitution of the Fund to transfer the US$ 2,333.8 million of unclaimed savings in inactive accounts.
By 70 votes in favor of Morena, the Labor Parties (PT), Green Ecologist of Mexico (PVEM) and Encuentro Social (PES); 43 against the National Action Parties (PAN), Institutional Revolutionary Parties (PRI), the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and the Citizen Movement, as well as two abstentions, the opinion was generally approved around 8:30 at night on Thursday, April 25.
After another four hours of debate and discarding more than 40 reservations, almost at 1 in the morning on Friday, April 26, the official majority achieved approval by 69 votes in favor of Morena, PT, PVEM and PES ; 41 against PAN, PRI, PRD and MC and 2 abstentions.
It is not a fundamental solution: Morena
The ruling was supported by Morena senators Griselda Valencia de la Mora, president of the Social Security Commission, and Nancy Sánchez Arredondo, president of the Second Legislative Studies Commission.
Valencia de la Mora assured that the “fundamental purpose” of the constitution of the Fund is to ensure that millions of workers who have contributed since July 1997 under the Afores system have a guaranteed pension of at least US$ 978.9 per month, in addition to the Pension for Seniors which is US$74.3 per month.
He argued that the legal reforms to the pension system of 1997 and 2007, which established the individual account system of the Afores, harmed workers, since those who have not been consistent in their contributions are at risk of receiving very low pensions. which range from US$87.5 per month.
Morena senator César Cravioto acknowledged that the creation of the Pension Fund is not “the fundamental solution” to the problems that the pension system has, which, he promised, will come in the next six-year term in the event that Claudia Sheinbaum wins the elections. elections next June 2.
"Of course it is not the fundamental solution, but there will be the fundamental solution in the Fourth Transformation after Claudia Sheinbaum wins the Presidency of Mexico, in the next six-year term," said legislator Cravioto.
They demand to return resources instead of taking them
The Pension Fund for Wellbeing will be a public trust that will complement pensions to ensure that they are equal to the worker's last salary, as long as a limit of US$978.9 per month is not exceeded.
At first, the Fund will be financed mainly with the little more than US$ 2,333.8 million of unclaimed savings in the Afores and that are in inactive accounts of people aged 70 or older.
The opposition senators questioned that their counterparts from Morena and the government want to send those resources to the Fund before informing or going to look for people with inactive and unclaimed accounts to return their savings.
“They have decided not to inform people, on the contrary, they have decided to keep the money. They decided to take a census to disappear the missing, for that they did use the nation's servants, but they did not use it to go look for people who have worked all their lives and tell them: 'Hey, you have this money.'” declared the PRD senator, Emilio Álvarez Icaza.
In addition to unclaimed resources, other sources of financing for the Fund are proposed, such as 75% of the income of the Institute to Return the Stolen to the People and 25% of the profits of parastatal entities such as the Maya Train and the Felipe International Airport. Angeles (AIFA).
It is also proposed that it be financed with the resources obtained from the extinction of the National Financial Fund for Agricultural, Rural, Forestry and Fisheries Development, as well as with the income obtained by the ISSSTE in the years 2024 and 2025 for the payment of debts for fees and contributions, as well as the sale of Institute property.
"They intend to finance first with the US$ 2,333.8 million and they want to include the profits, which, which profits, please? Of the AIFA, of Mexicana de Aviación, of the Mayan Train, none of those companies in the coming years, many years , it will have,” said Senator Julen Rementería (PAN).
