Universal Pension

I agree with the decision to implement a pension for the elderly, although many choose informality, which avoids the challenges of having a job: bosses, schedules, tasks, training, colleagues, etc., which is 50%, and prevents the benefit of a pension and medical care, which impedes social well-being.

While there are people who receive a pension of $60,000 to $100,000 a month under employment contracts, and a group of gilded bureaucrats with a substantial pension and other benefits, the vast majority have a pension of less than $10,000 a month.

The National Survey of Occupation and Employment indicates that, in 2022, 18 million people aged 60 and over resided there (14% of the population). 49% of employed people aged 60 and over are self-employed, and 38% are subordinate and paid workers. According to the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (Coneval), older adults in informal employment earn an average of $60 pesos per day, and those with paid work earn up to $7,000 per month.

There are older adults who, for some reason, cannot work and live off their pension or what their family provides. Due to reduced physical capacities, retirement from the labor market, health or education issues, older adults are exposed to living in poverty, which limits their access to basic services. Medical care becomes unsustainable.

Where to live? Residences are an alternative for care and attention. Cost? Luxury accommodation, food, recreation and health services, from $20 to $95 thousand per month, only for the upper class. Those who cannot afford it, occupy spaces with less comfort, they are there out of necessity and the pension they receive goes directly to retirement homes. Few have the health and independence to be at home, alone.

25th Hour: The State DIF System has nursing homes in 7 cities under socioeconomic study and recovery quota. It offers food, recreational activities, exercise, medical and nursing care with hospitalization. It provides people over 60 years of age in vulnerable situations (abandonment, loss, disability, family disintegration and social abandonment) with a place where they can have a dignified, safe, comfortable, physically, mentally and spiritually healthy life, improving their quality of life, self-esteem and sociocultural and affective participation, promoting their reintegration into an active and stable life.

The number of older adults is increasing. By 2050, Mexico could number more than 33 million. It is a complex and expensive challenge for authorities to plan public policies for social development and the fight against poverty.