Pension funds hit RD$120 billion

[NewsWhore]

This year it is projected that the pension funds will close with income of more than RD$120 billion (around 7% of GDP) and for 2011, it is projected that they will surpass RD$150 billion. The Superintendent of Pensions, Joaquin Geronimo, said that the entity projects that by 2014 the funds will represent some RD$300 billion, equal to 12% of GDP. Geronimo told Diario Libre reporters, nonetheless, that with regard to pensions, the important thing is not to count the money, since each month the pension funds grow by RD$2 billion, which is increased by interest, but to make sure that they serve to guarantee the beneficiaries their future income and welfare. In his judgment it is not enough to guarantee workers a dignified pension at the time of retirement, if these funds do not help improve the country's economy and the living conditions of the population. He said that a good investment of these resources in productive activities such as the case of promoting housing for workers was one such way to use the funds.

Moreover the funds have to guarantee against the contingencies that appear for the workers in the process before they retire, and for this they pay a worker's compensation insurance and these funds are covering these eventualities adequately. Geronimo cited the fact that they have granted pensions both for disability as well as for the heirs of workers who die. He also said that he was in favor of the mortgage legislation that would provide low-cost housing for wage earners and their families.

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