Since the social revolt that began in October last year, the discussion has been installed on the possibility that people in some extreme situation may, exceptionally, withdraw their pension funds.
The initiative became so strong that the President himself indicated, on the 14th of that month, that it would assess the relevance that, those with terminal illnesses, could withdraw their savings in advance to pay for their treatments. Apparently, an act of enormous understanding and generosity, responded in uneover with a resounding not by the owners and leaders of the “industry”. They only agreed to recalculate the amount of the pension, since the affected person would live less than projected.
From the perspective of those who manage and profit from pension funds, this application is unacceptable, for two reasons. First, because it opens the door for new exceptions that, in the long run, put business continuity at risk. Second, because it reduces the capital with which they rent.
The argument, obviously, is the damage done to the pensions of Chileans and Chileans, in and of itself low. Casualties, in the opinion of the AFPs themselves, because we impose very little and retire very early. Not because of the logic of the system. We have bad wages and, moreover, we are unprofessional to savings (perhaps because the average wage reaches difficulties to reach the end of the month).
Although it is not the purpose to treat the profits of this business here, it is not possible to ignore them, to the extent that they are at the heart of the problem.
Thanks to the fixed commission on quotes, the owners of the AFPs are not at risk, but are guaranteed a huge income. They also increase their usefulness with “lace”, that is, the obligation to invest the equivalent of 1% of the equity to supply possible losses. Thus, AFPs in 1991-2005 had a return of 26%, outperforming banking by 66%, which enjoyed a solid 16% return. Earnings in the first half of 2019 reached more than 267 billion pesos, or almost one billion dollars a day.
That same year, in March, the average retirement of men was 320 thousand pesos per month and that of women 192 thousand.
Given this perspective, it cannot be surprising that the owners of the AFPs and their representatives are willing to defend them at any price.
The current situation has given relevance to the question of early withdrawal and expanded it to other options, given the crisis of poverty and hunger that is being unleashed. The answer again has been a non-closed, of the Government and the entrepreneurship (or conversely, the order is irrelevant when the factor is the same). The reasons are identical: they take care of a miserable old age product of the inappropriate use that we will give to our savings. We’d better turn to other savings, including ours, but they’re not meant to ensure the profitability of elite businesses, such as cessation insurance.
One question one could ask on this subject, however, is: how do we get to the point where the treatment of someone’s terminal illness should be subjected to the benevolence of the owners of AFP?
What kind of country have we built, in which this is a reasonable idea, by which it is considered noble to fight?
Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for a situation like this to be covered by a social security system that guarantees that no one will die from inattention, but because, despite it, no more could be done? Without such care involving indebtedness to relatives with treatment accounts or to snavel the inheritance that planned savings may entail.
In this, AFPs are right: pension funds should not be intended for anything other than pensions. For other benefits, there should be a comprehensive and homogeneous system of social welfare in quality.
What they do not say, however, is that they should not be dedicated to enriching the elites either, but to avoid an old age in the misery of the majority of the population, as has so far been the case.
The cpoured into this opinion column is the sole responsibility of its author, and does not necessarily reflect the editorial line or position of El Mostrador.
