Industries warn of shenanigans with Pension Fund

Santo Domingo.- More than 87.5% of the pension fund’s new investments are allocated to buy debt instruments of the Central Bank and cover the budget deficit through the Finance Ministry, said the head of the Herrera Industries Association (ANEIH), who labeled them as risky and not very productive.

For Antonio Taveras, the funds from the pension system should be the springboard for economic development and to create jobs, while at the same time producing better returns for the companies guarantee a worthy retirement of the workers.

The business leader stressed that Pension Superintendence (SIPEN) quarterly data show that from 2014 to 2018 the pension fund’s investment portfolio has almost doubled, from RD$276.5 billion to RD$559.9 billion, and 87.2% of that growth has been invested in financial and debt instruments of the Central Bank and the Finance Ministry.

“If the AFPs had to start paying pensions on a massive scale today, there would be no money available for these purposes, because for the most part the funds are captured in instances of the State covering deficits that look like they’ll snowball.”