Public pension systems in Latin America have historically suffered from low coverage, with a relatively small percentage of the labor force eligible for benefits in retirement. In recent years, many governments have implemented reforms aimed at expanding the percentage of citizens who are eligible for benefits. In this paper we classify and evaluate pension reforms in four Latin American countries, focusing specifically on policies aimed at expanding coverage among the large share of Latin Americans who operate as self-employed workers. The reforms that we examine range from those linked to simplified tax regimes to those that provide pension-specific subsidies. With the exception of a 2006 reform in Costa Rica that subsidized pension contributions at progressive rates, we find no evidence that any of these reforms increased coverage. Our results highlight the opportunity costs to low-income workers of paying into the system, which include forgoing eligibility for less generous, non-contributory pensions.

中文翻译：

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拉丁美洲的养老金改革和个体经营

拉丁美洲的公共养老金体系历来覆盖率低，有资格获得退休福利的劳动力比例相对较小。近年来，许多政府实施了旨在扩大有资格获得福利的公民比例的改革。在本文中，我们对四个拉丁美洲国家的养老金改革进行了分类和评估，特别关注旨在扩大作为自雇工人经营的大部分拉丁美洲人的覆盖面的政策。我们研究的改革范围从与简化税制相关的改革到提供养老金特定补贴的改革。除了哥斯达黎加 2006 年以累进税率补贴养老金缴款的改革之外，我们没有发现任何证据表明这些改革增加了覆盖面。