A presidential advisory group known as the “Comisión Marcel” delivered a package of proposals to reform Chile’s pension system. The recommendations emphasized expanding coverage and improving benefits for groups left out of the contributory system, helping set the agenda that later produced the 2008 solidarity pillar.
Chile enacted Law 20.255, creating the Sistema de Pensiones Solidarias (Solidarity Pension System), often called the “Pilar Solidario.” The law established non-contributory and top-up benefits funded by the state to reduce old-age poverty and improve coverage among low-income older adults and people with disabilities.
The reform’s new benefits began operating, replacing the older means-tested PASIS pension with the Pensión Básica Solidaria (PBS) and adding the Aporte Previsional Solidario (APS) as a top-up for low contributory pensions. This start date marked the practical launch of the non-contributory pillar as a major anti-poverty tool for older adults.
The Solidarity Pillar was designed to expand beyond the initially covered poorest groups, aiming to reach a larger share of low-income older adults over time. By this stage of the rollout, the program had broadened eligibility toward the planned 60% of the poorest population, reflecting a shift from narrow assistance to wider income support.
Large demonstrations demanded changes to Chile’s largely privatized pension model and criticized low retirement benefits. The protests increased political pressure to expand or redesign state-supported benefits, keeping pension adequacy and inequality at the center of national debate.
Chile enacted Law 21.419 creating the Pensión Garantizada Universal (PGU), a non-contributory benefit meant to complement low pensions and broaden access beyond the earlier targeted solidarity design. The PGU represented a policy pivot toward a more universal old-age income floor, while still excluding the highest-income group through an affluence test.
Initial PGU payments began, starting with people already receiving support through the previous Solidarity Pillar. This step turned the new legal entitlement into cash support, helping raise incomes for older adults with low or moderate pensions.
Chile published Law 21.735, a major reform that adds a new employer-financed component and adjusts key parameters of the pension system. The law also links to staged increases in the PGU amount and broader benefit access, signaling a renewed effort to address low pensions through both contributory and non-contributory changes.
Employers began paying the first step of a new, gradually rising contribution (starting at 1% in this phase) to finance parts of the reformed pension architecture. This change matters because it shifts more of the system’s financing onto employer payments, supporting new benefits alongside individual savings.
A reform-driven PGU increase began, applied first to beneficiaries aged 82 and older. This staged approach aimed to raise benefits while spreading fiscal and administrative impacts over multiple years.
By early 2026, official guidance reflected updated PGU maximum amounts after indexation (adjustment) and continued the staged rollout rules by age. This illustrates how non-contributory benefits in Chile are maintained over time through periodic updates rather than being a one-time policy change.
The next stage of the reform expands the higher PGU amount to beneficiaries aged 75 and older, continuing the age-based rollout begun in 2025. This step further strengthens the non-contributory pension floor for older cohorts most likely to face poverty risks.
Most of the structural provisions of Law 21.735 are scheduled to enter into force in 2027, marking a major transition point from the earlier framework to the new mixed system design. This date matters because it represents the point when many legal and administrative changes become the “new normal” for how pensions are governed and delivered.
Pensión Básica Solidaria and non-contributory pension reforms (Chile, 2008–present)