Financial Welfare Benefits

Payment of Common-Risk Disability Pensions is considered among the eventualities covered by the Mean Premium Regime, based on articles 38, 39 and those subsequent, in Act 100 of 1993, modified by Act 860 of 2003.

In compliance with that established in Article 38 of Act 100 of 1993, a personal is considered disabled when he or she looses 50% of more of his or her working capacity as a result of any non-occupational, non-intentional cause.

To be acknowledged for this pension, the following criteria must be met:

1. DISABILITY: Equal to or larger tan 50%.
2. PAYMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS: The law distinguishes between age and contributions as follows:

• STARTING AT 20 YEARS OF AGE: Having fulfilled and paid contributions for 50 working weeks within the last 3 years immediately prior to the structuring date or to the date of the eventuality that caused the disability, whichever may be the cased.
• LESS THAN 20 YEARS OF AGE: Only require having fulfilled and paid contributions for 26 working weeks during the year immediately prior to the event that caused the disability or to the date the disability statement was issued. Art. 1 of Act 860 of 2003, which reformed Art. 39 of Act 100 of 1993.
• FULFILLED WEEKS: When the affiliate has fulfilled and paid contributions for at least 75% of the required minimum working weeks to access Old Age Pension, the only requirement he or she must meet is having fulfilled and paid contributions for 25 weeks in the last 3 years.

 

The right to this Pension Category is granted to:

1. Family members of a deceased Old Age or Common Risk Disability pensioner and

2. Family members of an affiliate of the system who passes away, provided that the deceased fulfilled and paid contributions for fifty weeks within the last three years immediately prior to his or her death.

When a pensioner or affiliate passes away, family beneficiaries will be entitled to request the Survivors Pension if the deceased was an affiliate, or a substitution of this pension, if he or she was a pensioner.

Article 47 of Act 100 of 1993, modified by article 13 of Act 797 of 2003, determines that the beneficiaries are entitled to this welfare benefit option as follows:
 
a) Lifetime entitlement for the spouse or permanent partner, provided that said beneficiary, to the date of death of the decedent, is 30 years of age or older.

b) Temporary entitlement for the spouse or permanent partner, provided that said beneficiary, to the date of death of the decedent, is less than 30 years old and has not procreated with the decedent. The temporary pension will be paid during the beneficiary’s lifetime for a maximum length of 20 years. In this case, the beneficiary must fulfill and pay contributions for his or her own workweeks in order to access his or her own pension. If the beneficiary has children, paragraph “a” will apply.

If the pensioner had a permanent partner with whom a previous marriage partnership has not been dissolved, and who is entitled to receive a share of the pension aforementioned in the previous paragraphs, said pension will be divided among them proportionally, according to the length of time they spent in cohabitation with the deceased.

c) The decedent’s children who are less tan 18 years old, and those between 18 and 25 years old, who are disqualified from working as a result of their studies and if they were financially dependent on the decedent.

d) Should there be no spouse, permanent partner or children entitled to this right, the decedent’s parents will be deemed beneficiaries provided that they where entirely and absolutely financially dependent on the decedent.

e) Should there be no spouse, permanent partner, children or parents entitled to this right, the decedent’s disabled siblings will be deemed beneficiaries provided that they where financially dependent on the decedent.

  

For those affiliates who have fulfilled the age requirement for accessing Old Age Pension, but who have not yet fulfilled the minimum required number of work weeks, and who declare it impossible to continue to fulfill and pay contributions for additional weeks will be entitled to receive, a Substitute Compensation, as substitution.

Likewise, affiliates who have not met all requirements for Disability Pension at the moment in which they become disabled, he or she may request a Substitute Compensation. In the same manner, family members of an affiliate who has not met all requirements for the Survivors Pension at the time of his or her death are entitled to receive compensation as substitution.

 

Family members of a system affiliate who, at the time of his or her death, had not met the requirements established for survivors pension, will be entitled to receive, as substitution, a compensation equivalent to that which would have corresponded in the case of substitute compensation for Old Age Pension, as stipulated in article 37 of Act 100 of 1993.
 

This is a financial welfare benefit is granted to those who can provide proof of having defrayed the funeral expenses of an affiliate or pensioner. The aforementioned will be entitled to receive financial assistance to the amount corresponding to the last salary used as base for contribution payments, or to the amount corresponding to the last pension allowance received, whichever may be the case. Said financial assistance will not be less that the equivalent of 5 minimum monthly legal wages, nor will it exceed 10 times said wage.

As requisite for entitlement to Financial Assistance for Funeral Expenses, the affiliate must have paid contributions to his pension, and must be up to date in payments at the time of his death. This welfare benefit must be requested within the year following the death of the affiliate. Otherwise it will expire.

SUBSIDIZED PROGRAMS

A program responsible for the Average Pension Regime—RPM or acts as the RPM administrator in a joint manner with the Ministry of Labor and the Prosperar Consortium, which was created with Act 100 of 1993, with the creation of the Pension Solidarity Fund.

It is designed to extend the scope and reach of pensions through a subsidy for the payment of pension contributions for population sectors that have no access to social security systems as a result of their characteristics and conditions.

 

COLOMBIANS ABROAD

The Average Pension Prime—RPM offers all Colombians who reside abroad the possibility of enrolling and paying contributions to the General Pension System, or to continue the contributions they executed at any given moment in Colombia, in order to obtain pension welfare benefits once he or she fulfills the requirements established by Colombian law according to legislations in force.

 

SPAIN-COLOMBIA AGREEMENT

The Social Security Agreement between Spain and Colombia was executed on September 6, 2005 and approved by Congress on December 27, 2006. The Agreement:

1. Applies for Spanish and Colombian workers who are or have been subject to social security legislations in Colombia and Spain, as well as their families, beneficiaries and survivors.
2. Provides workers the possibility of accumulating workweeks fulfilled in Spain and Colombia, in order to access welfare benefits offered by social security, in equal conditions, through beneficiaries may go on to reside in Colombia, Spain or a third country.