Colombia’s deputy labor minister has announced that the country’s retirement age will not go up in the near future, Colombian media reported Monday.
Vice-minister Mauricio Olivera also announced that pension reforms will be presented to Congress in the second half of 2012.
According to the vice-minister; “For the moment, an increase in the retirement age, for both men and women, is not being contemplated, however it is clear that it [the pension system] must be revised because the system collapsed and the policy of average bonuses is unsustainable in the medium-term.”
“With science, life expectancy has increased rapidly, and a person who works for 20 years and enjoys a pension for 30 years in unsustainable”, Olivera added.
The viceminister also said the possibility of reviewing the pension age will be evaluated every five to 10 years.
With reference to unemployment, Olivera added that the goal of the government to reduce the unemployment rate to a single digit has been achieved. However he said that the country should aim for an unemployment level of between 6% and 7%.