July 2020

28Jul

‘We’re Going for More’ Say Chileans After Pensions Reform Crosses Free Market Rubicon

Within minutes of Chilean lawmakers approving a bill that allows citizens to draw down 10% of their pensions to help make ends meet during the coronavirus pandemic, a phrase started trending on Twitter: "We're going for more." The bill's authors insisted the raid on the private retirement system introduced in the 1980s under the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship was just an emergency measure but as it snowballed in popularity, so have the ambitions of those backing it. Lawmakers who voted...

July 28, 2020
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23Jul

Chile’s Senate approves pension reform law

Chile's Senate on Wednesday approved a measure allowing citizens to withdraw up to 10 percent of their pension funds to help mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Read also COVID-19 Relief Packages Help Fuel Ultra-Low Interest Rates The bill, approved by a 29-13 vote with one abstention, will now return to the lower house Chamber of Deputies where it has already been given the green light for a final and decisive vote. Read also Covid-19 May Destroy Chile’s Iconic...

July 23, 2020
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22Jul

Covid-19 May Destroy Chile’s Iconic Pension System

If last year’s national convulsion wasn’t enough to break up Chile’s romance with market-friendly technocracy, the spreading civic choler over the miseries brought on by the coronavirus pandemic may finish the job. Yes, President Sebastian Pinera’s speedy measures to combat the outbreak and pump the economy with emergency funds for the most vulnerable households gave the besieged government a breather. Yet the recent 95 to 36 vote by the Lower House to allow Chileans to raid their private pensions...

July 22, 2020
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June 2020
05Jun

Chile’s pension system is changing for the worse

Chile’s Minister of Finance, Ignacio Briones, gave instructions for changes to laws 18.045 and 18.046, which were originally meant to give more transparency and responsibility to AFP administrators, in other words; keep them honest. Read also South Africa’s Central Bank Rules Out Financing Government The changes are great news for the administrators, but negative news for Chileans and for Felices Y Forrados, a non-regulated stock market tracker, and advisor (for less than $3 a month) to non-professionals that need help...

June 5, 2020
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April 2020

16Apr

Chile gives pension funds more firepower as virus batters growth

Chile’s Central Bank agreed on Wednesday to increase the maximum investment limits on alternative assets for four of the country’s five public pension funds as it seeks to contain the impact of the coronavirus health crisis on the economy. The bank said in a statement that the move was designed to allow for “diversification of the pension fund portfolios ... to access better combinations of risk and return.” The potential to extend the funds’ investments could provide a welcome...

April 16, 2020
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January 2020

16Jan

Chile’s Pinera proposes reform of pension system that has fueled protests

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said on Wednesday that he will send a bill to Congress this week to reform the country’s pension system, which leaves many retirees living in poverty and has been one of the main complaints of protesters in months of demonstrations. Read Also Piñera’s proposal fuels debate on low pensions in Chile In a radio and television broadcast, Pinera said he will propose a 6% increase in the pension contribution per worker. Chile’s pension system is a...

January 16, 2020
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09Jan

Solving Chile’s Crisis Starts With Fixing Its Pension System

BY JORGE HEINE Protesters cite the Pinochet-era retirement scheme as their top grievance. Fixing it will mean a return to basic principles of social security. As Chile’s protests continue into the new year, it is important to understand the reasons behind the public’s frustration – and for policymakers to come up with ways to address it. In that, no issue is more important than Chile’s private pension scheme, singled out in opinion polls as the most important issue for...

January 9, 2020
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October 2019

28Oct

Chile president lifts state of emergency, protests continue

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Monday ended a state of emergency that lasted more than a week amid mass protests, but demonstrations continued nonetheless. The decision to lift the decree at midnight, just two days after more than a million people took to the country''s streets demanding economic and political change, comes after the equally unpopular week-long nighttime curfews ended on Saturday. Authorities imposed both the state of emergency and curfews last weekend after Chile was rocked by its...

October 28, 2019
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24Oct

Chile’s Pinera announces price cuts, new wage after protests

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera has announced new measures aimed at resolving one of the country's worst political crises in years following weeks of protests. In a televised speech on Tuesday, Pinera promised an immediate 20 percent increase in government-subsidised pensions, a guaranteed monthly wage of $480, cheaper medicines for the poor and stabilised electricity costs. He also announced a new tax bracket of 40 percent for those earning more than $11,000 a month, as well as potential wage cuts...

October 24, 2019
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July 2019

05Jul

Chile watchdog reports decade-high pension savings returns

Assets under management in Chile’s private pension, or AFP, system hit a record of nearly US$219bn at the end of June following strong returns. The sum is equivalent to 77% of GDP. Three of the system’s five risk-based funds registered their best performances in a decade in H1, watchdog SP said in a statement. Each of the country's six AFPs manages five funds - A, B, C, D and E - which their members can choose from, with A being the highest risk and E the...

July 5, 2019
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