Mexico Universal Pension for Older Adults Amafore, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico): Guillermo Zamarripa, president of the Mexican Association of Pension Fund Administrators (Amafore), said the Universal Pension for Older Adults should be maintained and should not be changed. He said that in countries with high informality, such as Mexico, the program is an essential pillar.
Speaking at the opening of the Amafore 2026 Meeting, Zamarripa said that demographic change in Mexico and the world requires mixed pension models with several pillars, along with ongoing assessment of fiscal sustainability. He said the Universal Pension for Older Adults is an essential component of the mixed pension model built in Mexico over the years, and that it “should be maintained” as it is.
Zamarripa said a key feature of the new architecture of mixed models is building a sufficient savings stock that serves as the primary source of pension payments, reducing reliance on fiscal resources to finance them. He noted that Afores currently manage savings of more than 9 trillion pesos, equal to 25% of national gross domestic product (GDP).
He said the greatest pressure on pension spending currently comes from earlier arrangements, such as the IMSS Law 73 and the tenth transitory article of the ISSSTE law, which were agreed decades ago and whose commitments must now be honored. “The important thing is to learn the lesson.
Any change to pension arrangements must require measuring its fiscal impact,” he said.
The Amafore president said Afore savings are expected to keep growing as a share of GDP, due to the 2020 reform that gradually raises contributions and the returns that will continue to be generated. For that reason, he said, developing the local securities market is fundamental for the Afore industry, and it should be complemented by private financing structures.
He added that the industry must consider what it will do if a gap opens between the growth of local markets and the growth of retirement savings.
Zamarripa said Afores view the Plan Mexico favorably as a way to develop the country by financing productive infrastructure. He also stressed that the savings stock accumulating in Afores must be used for its purpose, which is generating income in old age.
He said unemployment withdrawals, which are provided for by law and have a valid cause, should be monitored to ensure they are made for the right reasons and in the amounts the law allows. He noted that withdrawing part of pension savings is a short-term financial decision for households with long-term consequences.
“Unfortunately, people tend to see only the first part. As an industry, we have a communication challenge to help that savings be preserved for the future,” he concluded.
