Thanks to a legal modification, Starting in April, it will be evaluated if the people who request the Universal Guaranteed Pension (PGU) are part of a family group belonging to the 90% of the lowest income of the population of Chile, instead of evaluating whether they are part of a family group belonging to the 90% lowest income segment of the population aged 65 or over in the country.
This change will make it possible to broaden the threshold for more people to access this state benefit. It is worth mentioning that this requirement is evaluated through a targeting instrument established by the regulations for the purposes of the PGU.
Another novelty is that As of February, the amount to be delivered to the beneficiaries will go from $193,917 to $203,173 due to the annual readjustment of the PGU.
In the case of people who had already submitted an application since August, and who was not approved by the aforementioned targeting criteria, their application will be analyzed again, from this legal modification, without the need for a new application process.
The Social Welfare Institute (IPS) has already determined that, Thanks to this change, some 24,000 people with previously rejected applications could now access the PGU from April. This corresponds to more than half of the applications that had been rejected due to the targeting criteria.
Added to the above, with the new applications that are being entered in the year, The Government estimates that close to 70,000 additional people would benefit from this law during the year 2023.
The aforementioned modification is established in Law No. 21,538, already published in the Official Gazette, which introduces modifications to Law No. 21,419 on the Universal Guaranteed Pension.
A call to continue requesting
The director of the Social Welfare Institute, Patricio Coronado, He highlighted that, thanks to various contact actions with people, such as letters, campaigns, telephone calls and the territorial deployment of the “PGU en Tu Barrio” program, more than 2 million people in total have already accessed the PGU or have received an equivalent old-age benefit.
He added that, in addition, “When this legal modification begins to take effect, during April, we will contact people who previously had an application rejected and who now qualify for the PGU, in case they meet the new requirement, to notify them about their benefit”.
He also added that “we call on people who have not done so to continue applying for the PGU, as long as they meet the basic prerequisites such as age, being registered in the Social Registry of Households and not belonging to Dipreca or Capredena”. Once that request is made, compliance with the other requirements is evaluated.
It should be remembered that It is not necessary to be a pensioner to request this benefit, as long as all other legal requirements are met. Even a person aged 65 or over could be working, and apply for the PGU, to later assess whether they meet all the access conditions.
Where can you apply for the PGU?
Below we show you the different ways to request the PGU:
- At IPS ChileAtiende branches.
- On that same website by video attention.
- In the municipalities in agreement with the IPS.
- In the AFPs themselves or insurance companies, if people are affiliated with those institutions.
