Today, the Social and Economic Council (SER) issued an advisory opinion on a proposal from the MAN-PIN lawmakers in Parliament that would automatically adjust public pensions and survivor benefits to inflation each year, restoring a safeguard that has been absent for more than a decade.
The draft law, submitted by legislators Giselle Mc William and Susanne Camelia-Römer, would tie payments under the General Old-Age Insurance (AOV) and the General Widows’ and Orphans’ Insurance (AWW) to the consumer price index (CPI) as measured each August. Beginning January 1 of each year, benefits would rise in step with inflation; if prices were stable or declined, payments would remain unchanged.
The proposal would mark a return to Curaçao’s pre-2013 system, replacing a growth-based formula that proved impossible to implement because of missing economic data. It keeps both the retirement age and contribution rates unchanged but seeks to preserve retirees’ purchasing power amid higher living costs.
In its advisory, the Council said it evaluated the plan within a wider legal, policy, and socioeconomic framework, considering international standards and the reform objectives of the government’s Country Package — a program aimed at strengthening Curaçao’s public finances and social safety net.