Payment of contributions to the General Pension System

Last July 23, by means of Ruling C-258 of 2020, the Constitutional Court declared the non-equivalence of Legislative Decree 558 of 2020 that allowed employers and independent workers to pay to the Pension System a percentage of 3% corresponding to the administration fee and to the disability and survival insurance coverage.

Consequently, the Draft Decree that would comply with the order of the Court to regulate the payment of contributions to the General Pension System, for the periods corresponding to April and May 2020, partially paid, is now available.

This document indicates that public and private sector employers and dependent and independent workers will have a term of no more than 36 months to make the contributions of the missing amounts of the contributions to the General Pension System corresponding to the periods of April and May of this year and will be paid 75% by the employer and the remaining 25% by the worker. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the employer may make the full payment of the missing contribution. In the case of self-employed workers, they will pay 100% of the contribution.

Said 36 months will be counted as from December 1, 2020, to make the payment of the missing contribution for each of its workers, without the payment of interest for late payment.

In the case of persons who are two years or less away from the pension age, the term for employers to make the payment of the missing contribution must not exceed 6 months counted as from December 1, 2020.

The aforementioned Bill also covers some circumstances that may occur, such as:

- If the employer enters a state of liquidation or declares itself in cessation of payments, they must make as a priority in favor of their workers the payment of the missing contribution to the General Pension System.

- It opens the possibility of being able to withhold from the pending salaries or emoluments, even without the worker's authorization and contrary to the provisions of the Substantive Labor Code, the value of the contribution corresponding to 25% payable by the worker and must make the missing contribution to the General Pension System before his definitive retirement.

- If the dependent worker withdrew from the company or the company was liquidated without having made the contribution and for such reason only the employer has paid the contribution, three (3) weeks of contribution must be credited in the labor history of the affiliate.

Finally, the Bill indicates that the complementary contributions that have not been made before December 1, 2023, will generate a moratorium interest as provided in Article 23 of Law 100 of 1993.

Document

Pago-de-las-cotizaciones-al-Sistema-General-de-Pensiones_​ENG.pdf