Should Women Retire at the Same Age as Men in Colombia? Experts Weigh In

Labor and Employment attorney Camilo Cuervo was interviewed by El Colombiano about the debate surrounding a potential alignment of the retirement age for men and women in Colombia, a proposal put forward by the president of the Supreme Court of Justice. Camilo commented that the discussion goes beyond whether retirement ages should be made the same and should instead focus on a broader structural review of Colombia's pension system, taking into account factors such as financial sustainability, life expectancy, contribution periods, and equity mechanisms for women. He also emphasized the challenge of ensuring that contributions made throughout a person's working life are sufficient to fund long-term retirement benefits.

"Colombia is overdue for a substantive discussion about the structural aspects of the pension system," he said. "In the case of men, 1,300 weeks amount to approximately 26 years of contributions, and in the case of women, 1,000 weeks amount to about 20 years of contributions. That is simply not enough to support a long-term pension. We must also recognize the issue of retirement age."

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