The pension reform already has a defined part, another still depends on Congress, and several questions arise for those who are currently contributing or are close to retirement.
The Constitutional Court approved most of Law 2381 of 2024 and established that the new system must come into effect on April 1, 2027, but returned parts of nine articles and a proposal to the House of Representatives for debate because, in its view, it was not properly done. The House will have 30 business days, counted from the notification of the ruling, to comply with that order.
What is already a fact is the way workers’ contributions will be made and the destination of those resources, in a pillar system: solidarity, semi-contributory, contributory, and voluntary savings.
The solidarity pillar is the subsidy that has existed for several governments, known as Colombia Mayor, whose resources come from the National Budget and not from workers’ contributions. It is intended to assist people in extreme poverty conditions who do not have a pension. In this pillar, a basic income of 230,000 pesos per month is provided (according to the latest estimate from Prosperidad Social during the previous government). The age criterion is 60 years for women and 65 for men.
The semi-contributory applies to those who, meeting the age requirement, do not meet the requirements to access a pension.
It will include those who are 62 years or older for men, or 57 years or older for women; have contributed between 300 and less than 1,000 weeks, at least until 2035; do not meet the necessary requirements to obtain a contributory pension; and may also include people with resources saved in Periodic Economic Benefits (BEPS), under the conditions established by the regulations.
The contributory pillar includes contributions from workers with a base contribution income between one and 25 minimum wages. In this pillar, pension contributions made by workers are divided between a defined benefit component and an individual savings component.
The defined benefit component will be managed by Colpensiones and will receive contributions from all workers corresponding to incomes up to 2.3 minimum wages. The individual savings component will continue to be managed by private funds that will act complementarily based on contributions made for income exceeding the first 2.3 minimum wages.
Finally, the voluntary savings is aimed at people who want to make additional contributions, voluntarily, to complement their pension and increase the savings available during old age. These resources can be saved through mechanisms authorized for voluntary pension savings.
This means that a person earning, for example, four minimum wages will not choose between sending all their contribution to Colpensiones or all to a private fund. Their contribution will be divided between the two components. Up to the established limit, the contribution will be in the Defined Benefit component, and on the part that exceeds that threshold, individual savings will be made.
The pension will be recognized and paid by Colpensiones and will be composed of the amounts corresponding to the two components, provided the requirements established to access the pension are met, which are: the retirement ages remain at 57 years for women and 62 for men, with a base requirement of 1,300 weeks.
However, in the case of women, the required weeks will be progressively reduced at a rate of 25 weeks per year from 2026 until fixed at 1,000 weeks in 2036. Those who complete at least 1,000 weeks under specific conditions may also access this pillar.
Jorge Llano, expert in pension regulation and former vice president of Asofondos, explains some of the changes.
Questions and answers:
What happens with the transition regime?
One of the elements that are already part of the law when it comes into effect is the transition regime. People who, at the time the new system comes into effect, have at least 750 weeks contributed if they are women or 900 weeks if they are men will continue under the rules of Law 100 of 1993 and the regulations that have modified or replaced it. For that calculation, weeks contributed in the different existing regimes and recognizable service times can be taken into account.
The date is important because the reform will not start operating immediately. The Court set April 1, 2027 as the effective date, while the House must correct the returned parts.
This leaves a difference between those who already have the transition condition consolidated and those who are close to reaching it. For the former, the reform maintains the application of the previous rules. For the latter, the number of weeks they manage to accumulate before the effective date will be decisive to know under which regime they will remain.
What happens when a person reaches pension age but does not meet the required weeks?
People who do not retire would check if they are eligible in the semi-contributory pillar, if they have between 300 and 1,000 weeks. With what they have saved, both in the individual savings pillar and in the pay-as-you-go pillar, a calculation is made of a monthly payment with those contributions, plus 3% real and a subsidy provided by the national government.
And based on that, they are then given a lifetime monthly payment.
“That is somewhat the criticism that has been made regarding the fact that, at this moment, the full amount could be requested as a lump sum payment, especially from pension funds, and that money was an important savings for families,” said the expert.
What happens with that money? Well, that money is used to, let’s say, finance that same semi-contributory income and, well, it is now managed directly, in this case, by Colpensiones.
For people who will make contributions in two parts, how is that pension calculated?
People who contribute up to 2.3 minimum wages to Colpensiones and the remainder to a Administrator of the Complementary Individual Savings Component (ACCAI), this will be calculated in two ways; the two calculations will be added.
The first is a calculation made with those 2.3 minimum wages that went to the defined benefit regime, and it is the calculation we currently know as between 65 and 80 percent of the base salary for calculation, which is the salary on which contributions were made in the last 10 years.
Based on that calculation, part of the pension payment is obtained, and the second element is an actuarial calculation made with the savings the person made; that actuarial calculation takes into account the person’s life expectancy, their age, the years of the spouse, and also the years of the children.
And based on that, an actuarial calculation is made; so it has the actuarial calculation plus what will be received in the defined benefit. The sum of the two will be the pension payment of that affiliate.
What happened to the possibility of retiring with fewer weeks?
What reduced weeks the most was the benefit for women with children, who could reduce to up to 850 weeks, but the Court returned it entirely to the House of Representatives. So, it remains to be seen how that discussion goes and what happens with that possibility if it is approved before April 2027, which is the date set by the Court for the pension reform to start applying.
Will the Bank of the Republic manage pensions?
Another structural change is the creation of the Contributory Pillar Savings Fund, a special account that, according to the law, will be managed by the Bank of the Republic. Its purpose is to help finance the obligations arising from the new pillar scheme.
The Bank does not become a pension administrator because of this. Its role is to manage that fund under the rules established by law and regulation. The structure includes generational subaccounts, so that the resources of each group are associated with financing the obligations corresponding to each age group.
The preparation process had already begun. In 2025, the Bank reported that it had created a specific department for the fund and an administrative committee, in addition to advancing processes to select portfolio managers. It also indicated that management should remain separate from the teams responsible for monetary, exchange rate, and credit policy.
The regulation did not start from scratch either. The Government issued Decree 0574 of 2025, which established rules on governance, management, investment, and risk management of the fund. The Ministry of Finance explained that the mechanism is intended to cover the contingent risk associated with the new obligations of Colpensiones and that resources would be managed through vehicles such as autonomous assets or fiduciary trusts.
The Bank itself had warned that, in addition to the regulation, it was necessary to advance in an inter-administrative contract with the Government to start management and allow the selection of managers.
What happened to the window of opportunity?
The window of opportunity expired on July 16, 2026. Law 2381 allowed certain people who were close to pension age and met the weeks requirement to transfer between the individual savings regime and the defined benefit regime. For women, 750 weeks were established and for men 900, in addition to being less than ten years away from reaching pension age. The mechanism required double advice.
