In accordance with the issuance of Law 2381 of 2024, the National Government has the obligation to regulate several aspects that were established therein and, for this reason, on October 03, 2024, Decree 1225 of 2024 was published, which seeks to regulate some of the articles of the pension reform. The most relevant aspects will be discussed below:
• Accreditation of pension contribution periods in application of International Social Security Agreements:
One of the aspects regulated by this decree deals with the times contributed in other countries by affiliates, in order to complete the weeks required for the proposed transition regime and/or to access the transfer opportunity.
The new decree establishes that, those affiliates who contributed times in states with which Colombia subscribed and ratified an International Social Security Agreement, currently in force, and who meet the requirements to be beneficiaries of the transition regime and/or the transfer opportunity, must prove the requirements (age and weeks) before July 1, 2025 through a correlation form or a certification issued by the Social Security Institution or liaison bodies defined in the respective agreement of the corresponding State party, duly apostilled and also containing certain specific data.
The members must request this document in the member country and then submit it in Colombia to their last Pension Administrator. Once presented, the Administrator must inform whether they comply with the minimum density of weeks and, if so, register the joint marking in the databases where it is proved that the affiliate acquired the transition regime.
It is important to note that the procedure described will implies an excessive burden for the affiliates who wish to make use of such time, considering, on the one hand, the existing barriers to carry out procedures in another country and, on the other hand, the time taken by the entities to carry out the procedures. According to the term established by the regulation, as of this date, there will only be eight (8) and a half month to have the weeks in the work history accredited.
• Methodology for the calculation of contribution periods:
For purposes of counting the time required in the opportunity of transfer and/or transition regime, weeks shall be understood as seven (7) days, months as thirty (30) days and years as three hundred and sixty (360) days, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitutional Court and the Council of State. It should be noted that this provision goes against the pronouncement made by the Supreme Court of Justice in its ruling SL 138 of 2024, in which it provided that the contribution periods may be counted in calendar days.
• Election of the Administrator of the Complementary Component of Individual Savings (hereinafter ACCIS):
Regarding the election of the Administrator of the Complementary Component of Individual Savings, the decree regulated the following:
| For those who are already affiliated to the General Pension System, do not expect to be covered by the transition regime and contribute more than 2.3 SMLMV ($2,990,000), the following shall apply: | For those who affiliate for the first time to the Pension System as of July 1, 2025, the following shall apply: |
• Select a CCIS Administrator no later than January 16, 2025. Such selection shall be effective as of July 1st, 2025. • Once the Administrator is selected, the joint marking of the first affiliation will be registered in the databases between the CCIS administrators and Colpensiones. • If a CCIS Administrator is not selected within the established term, the Pension and Parafiscal Management Unit (UGPP) will randomly assign them according to the distribution system. | • Select one of the CCIS administrators. Colpensiones and the other administrators will provide information so that the decision is free and informed.
* It is important to note that, from the wording of the regulation, it can be extracted that the persons who affiliate to the System for the first time as of July 1st, 2025, must choose an Administrator of the CCIS, regardless of their Base Contribution Income. |
• Requirements for the transfer opportunity:
Another relevant aspect of this decree refers around the precision of the requirements demanded to take advantage of the transfer opportunity for those who have more than 47 years old women, and 52 years old men.
Compared to the provisions of the text of the pension reform, this decree made an important change to the wording of the regulation, since the expression “who is less than ten years away from pension age” was changed to “who has less than 10 years to reach pension age.”, which, under a literal interpretation, would imply that they can only be transferred:
• Women: Before reaching 57 years.
• Men: Before reaching 62 years.
Likewise, a requirement was added, in which it is indicated that those who are already pensioned or have been granted a refund of balances or a substitutive indemnity, will not be able to make use of such transfer opportunity. In the same line, it was added that the transfer opportunity also applies to those who are affiliated to an alternative pension plan of the Individual Savings Regime, referred to in Article 87 of Law 100 of 1993.
• Deadlines for the transfer opportunity:
On the other hand, Articles 12 and 13 of the recent decree clarified two (2) key deadlines for affiliates seeking to access the transfer opportunity, which consist of:
1. Maximum date to comply with requirements: Affiliates have until June 30, 2025, to meet the age and weeks requirements necessary to access the transfer opportunity.
2. Deadline to carry out the transfer: Once the requirements have been met, members will have a two-year period to carry out the transfer, which began on July 16, 2024, and will be extended until July 16, 2026.
• Cancellation of the transfer due to fraud or non-compliance with requirements:
Article 15 of Decree 1225, established that, in case it is demonstrated that the transfer referred to in Article 76 of Law 2381, was materialized with noncompliance with requirements or due to fraud, the administrators may perform its cancellation, update the information and transfer to the corresponding administrator the contributions or resources received within 30 days following the cancellation of the transfer.
• Actuarial calculations by omission for self-employed workers:
The text introduced a relevant modification to Decree 1296 of 2022, in relation to the formula that had been applied to liquidate the actuarial calculation for independent workers. In this sense, the factor of the base salary, which was previously the last contribution accrued in the period of omission, was modified by the average of the contributions of the entire working life. This situation will imply a significant increase in the amounts to be paid by members who have omitted to make such contributions as self-employed workers.
Likewise, the regulation specified that the Pension and Parafiscal Management Unit (UGPP) will be the entity in charge of carrying out the verifications and investigations in case of possible irregularities in the acquisition of the transition regime and/or the opportunity of transfer. In case irregularities are found, the corresponding times in the member's work history will be eliminated, the member will be informed about the request for refund of contributions, and the competent authorities will be notified about the case.
• Strategies for the termination of judicial proceedings:
Finally, the text established strategies for the completion of judicial processes related to the ineffectiveness of the transfer under the transfer opportunity established in the pension reform law, which include:
1. Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms: In the processing of judicial proceedings Colpensiones and the Private Fund Administrators may promote alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as conciliation or transaction, seeking an agreement that allows the early termination of the process by mutual agreement.
2. Termination of Litigious Proceedings: Judges in the exercise of their autonomy may optionally decide on the claims of the lawsuit, if it is demonstrated that the plaintiff made his transfer in accordance with article 76 of Law 2381 of 2024, or if there is the possibility of doing so under said law.
3. Double Counseling and Transfer Procedure During the Judicial Process: During the judicial process or after its completion, Colpensiones and the Administrators may carry out double counseling and other administrative procedures to guarantee the effectiveness of the transfer opportunity established in the pension reform and the termination of the litigious cases.
In summary, Decree 1225 of 2024 not only intends that several measures be advanced in a very short term, but also introduces certain provisions that may be questionable with respect to the faculties that the Government has to modify existing rules that are not directly related to the text of the pension reform, which represents a challenge for the affiliates of the General Pension System, as well as for the Administrators and other entities involved.
Finally, we cannot lose sight of the fact that currently the Constitutional Court continues to study the different claims of unconstitutionality that have been filed against Law 2381 of 2024, so its regulatory Decrees will also be subject to the decisions made by the highest Court in the coming months.
