Recent developments in social pensions in Latin America
By International Social Security Association
Non-contributory pensions, also known as social pensions, are an important component of rights-based universal social protection systems. They allow extending pension coverage relatively rapidly to elderly persons who are not covered by contributory schemes. Usually financed by general revenues and providing relatively modest benefits, eligibility for social pensions is often conditional on low income or certain other criteria.
The right to social protection, including old age income security, is enshrined in various national constitutions and legal instruments at the international level, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966. Social protection features prominently in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, where it is regarded as an important contribution to achieving various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These include the eradication of poverty (Goal 1), the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment (Goal 5), and the reduction of inequalities (Goal 10).
Social protection is thus a universal human right. Moreover, as recognized in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, investment into social protection is a key tool to build more inclusive and equitable societies, which can yield real economic returns. ILO Recommendation No. 202, adopted in 2012, gives guidance to countries in setting nationally defined social protection floors. It features a number of basic guarantees that comprise essential health care and income security across the life cycle, including during old age.
This article reviews the role of social pensions in Latin America in ensuring basic income security for the elderly in the region. It is based on information from the 2019 Americas edition of the International Social Security Association’s (ISSA) Social Security Programmes Throughout the World as well as good practices submitted by ISSA member institutions as part of the ISSA Good Practice Awards.
Source ISSA
