*The Colombian senate has approved a pension reform bill submitted by President Gustavo Petro’s government, greenlighting the legislation with 49 votes in favour and four against. The bill now faces two further debates in the lower chamber of congress. Presented by Petro in March 2023, the reform seeks to address inequality in elderly Colombians’ access to pensions. If it is passed, citizens would be placed into one of three groups according to their income and pension contribution history, which would determine how much they receive from or contribute to the state pension fund, Colpensiones. Responding to yesterday’s vote, Interior Minister Luis Fernando Velasco said that congress had taken a step towards providing a monthly pension for “nearly 3m elderly people who don’t have any income for a dignified life”. Labour Minister Gloria Inés Ramírez said that the reform would “give all Colombians the chance to retire, regardless of their level of income”.
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