Francisco A. Torres, Superintendent of Pensions, said that in order to reach the minimum pension established by law and prevent poverty at the time of retirement, it is necessary to overcome the challenges of the low contribution density, which is 44.7%, and the rate of contribution to the pension fund, one of the lowest in the region.
Torres made this statement during his participation in the Industrial Meeting organized by the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD), which in this edition addressed the current situation of the Dominican Social Security System.
During his presentation, he discussed the current context of the Dominican Pension System in which more than 8,000 million pesos are collected monthly and has an accumulated assets of 1.3 billion pesos, which is reflected in the socioeconomic development of the country.
Also present as panelists were Luis Miguel De Camps, Minister of Labor; Edward Guzmán, General Manager of the National Social Security Council; Henry Sadhalá, Social Security Treasurer; and Jesús Feris Iglesias, Superintendent of Health and Labor Risks, and as special guest, Ricardo de los Santos, President of the Senate.
The welcoming remarks were made by Julio Virgilio Brache, president of the Association of Industrialists of the Dominican Republic, in which he emphasized the importance of putting into context the challenges of the Dominican Pension System in view of the possible reforms.
Luis Miguel De Camps García, Minister of Labor, expressed that, from the governmental sector, in view of the labor reform, it is expected to include or strengthen the solidarity pillar of pensions, the implementation of primary care, greater health coverage for pensioners, to extend the age of children with social security coverage and also to include parents in the family nucleus of the titular member”.
Likewise, to improve the projected replacement rate of old age pensions, to include new modalities to access old age pensions, to solve the issue of the regulations of the National Medical Care Fund for Traffic Accidents for the subsidized and contributory regimes, and to extend the coverage of the Family Health Insurance.
Francisco Torres reiterated that one of the most satisfactory achievements of the Superintendence of Pensions (Sipen) is to have an actuarial model designed to analyze the different pension schemes. With this model of the International Labor Organization (ILO) it is possible to evaluate and project the changes suggested for each member profile.
In the same context, he explained the factors that are taken into account when evaluating pension systems, such as affordability, i.e., the capacity of the systems to establish contribution levels within the financial capacity of individuals, sectors and the State, without displacing other social needs or having fiscal consequences.
Also, sustainability, how the system can meet the costs of social security and guarantee coverage in the foreseeable future, under reasonable assumptions; and finally, predictability, which refers to the provision of benefits established by law, not subject to the discretion of decision-makers, and helping to mitigate longevity risks.
At the end of his presentation, he highlighted Sipen’s most recent achievements, among which he highlighted the massive educational plan “Conoce Tu Futuro” (Know Your Future); the RITA Chatbot; the start of the Complementary Plans in pensions, among others. All conceived to bring timely and useful information for members of the pension system, in the interest of Dominican workers to achieve a better pension.
Source:Presidencia.gob.do
