According to estimates by Asofondos, an association of pension funds, Colombian life expectancy has risen to 87 years for women and 84 years for men.
This diverges sharply from the World Bank’s most recent calculations, which put Colombians’ average life expectancy in 2008 at 73 years.
Santiago Montenegro, president of Asofondos, said that the increase makes reform of the pensions system urgent. The pensions expert supports raising the retirement age in Colombia beyond the current ages of 57 for women and 62 for men, Caracol radio reported Tuesday.
Montenegro said that such steps must be taken as soon as possible to avoid a pensions crisis. He spoke in favor of outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s proposal to introduce a tax to support the most valuable pension plans and to cover pensioners’ liabilities.