Chile: Congress Approves Withdrawal from Private Pension Funds Due to Covid-19 Epidemic

Constitutional Reform Bill: Congress Approves Withdrawal from Private Pension Funds Due to Covid-19 Pandemic

With the required 3/5 quorum in each house,  Chile’s bicameral legislature, composed of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, successfully ratified a constitutional reform bill that will allow citizens to withdraw up to 10% from private pension funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, from a minimum of (approximately) $1,200 (USD) up to a maximum of $5,375 (approximately). People with less than $1,200 in their pension funds account will be able to withdraw all of their funds.

Chilean lawmakers failed however, to reach the necessary 3/5 quorum that would have created a collective solidarity pension fund, and which could have served to supplement future pensions affected by those withdrawals.

Although the 10% withdrawal of pension funds was approved in its entirety, other parts of the bill were modified in order to gain the approval of the Senate. The amended bill, reflecting the Senate’s changes, was subsequently confirmed by the Chamber of Deputies. This Constitutional reform bill will enter into force within the next few days.

Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos attorneys are available to assist you with these and other workplace issues. For more information on these articles or any other issues involving labour and employment matters in Chile, please contact Ricardo Tisi (Partner) of Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos at rtisi@cariola.cl or visit www.cariola.cl.

For more information please contact Joseph Granato, Communications Manager at L&E Global at joseph.granato@leglobal.org.