In the first half of the year, the Retirement Fund Administrators (AFORES) registered unemployment withdrawals of 14,914 million pesos, the highest amount for the same period since records began, according to the National Commission of the Retirement Savings System (Consar).
The figure reported by the regulator also represented an increase of 19.7 percent in real terms compared to the first half of 2023, when unemployment benefits amounted to more than 11,902 million pesos.
This type of withdrawal is a right that all workers with an individual Afore account have. However, making use of it has immediate consequences such as a decrease in the number of weeks of contributions or in the balance saved for the pension.
To mitigate these impacts, people have the option of making voluntary contributions to their Afore that can range from 50 pesos to 100 pesos, which can be made as deposits in department stores or in purchases of entertainment services, whether in movie theaters or cafes, to name a few cases.
“On the one hand, these withdrawals provide necessary support to workers who are out of work, but they entail significant risks for their long-term savings. One of the main concerns is the impact that these withdrawals have on the amount of future pensions,” said Salvador Soto, a professor at UNAM.
In an interview, the expert stressed that another aspect to consider is the frequency with which workers resort to these withdrawals. Although the law allows one withdrawal every five years, the data show that the amounts withdrawn have been increasing in recent years.
You can read: Consar updates rules for Afores account statements
“This suggests that workers are increasingly relying on these resources to cope with emergency situations, which could indicate deeper problems in the labor market and social security,” the analyst added.
Data from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) indicate that 295,058 jobs were created between January and June, the lowest figure in four years for a similar period.
Similarly, job creation was 42.6 percent lower than in the first half of 2023.
In detail by administrators, Consar announced that Afore Coppel was the one that registered the highest amount in withdrawals due to unemployment with 2,862 million pesos, followed by Citibanamex, which had withdrawals of 2,541 million pesos.
2024-07-15 22:18:23
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