Act 9906 "Law to Protect the Right of Workers to Withdraw Supplementary Pension Funds" was published last Monday October 05, which has included amendments to several provisions of Act 7983, "Workers Protection Act (LPT)".
This law was conceived to make the aplicable rules to the withdrawal of any amounts accumulated in the Mandatory Pension Regime more flexible. Over the past few days, however, the Costa Rican Social Security Administration (CCSS) sent communication to employers indicating that as from this reform the “percentage composition” of the Labor Capitalization Fund (FCL) and of the Mandatory Pension Regime (ROP) has been amended as follows:
• FCL: changes from 3% to 1.5%
• ROP: changes from 1.5% to 3%
This communication, however, created some confusion in the recipients, as it might have been understood as an undesired increase in social contributions to be paid by employers. Notwithstanding this, and following an analysis of the affected regulations and of the opinion of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (SUGEF) and of the Office of the Superintendent of Pensions (SUPEN), which was kindly provided by Mrs. Rocío Aguilar, we were able to clarify that there is no increase in social contribution rates, but rather a redistribution of the already existing percentages.
Therefore, the obligation for employers remain unchanged, although there is a change in the way such resources will be allocated for purposes of increasing the direct contribution to the ROP regime.
Should you have any queries, please email us at: contactenos@bdsasesores.com, indicating the country about which you are raising your question.