DistantNews
Support us
Social Security Fund: Employers owe more than $300 million after delinquency rebound
🇵🇦 Panama /Economy & Trade

Social Security Fund: Employers owe more than $300 million after delinquency rebound

From TVN Panamá · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Employers in Panama owe the Social Security Fund (CSS) over $300 million, reversing a two-year downward trend in debt.
  • This debt increased by $22 million in the first half of the year, affecting workers' social benefits and health coverage.
  • The CSS has not yet responded to requests for information on its plans to address the rising employer delinquency.

Employer debt to Panama's Social Security Fund (CSS) has surpassed $300 million, marking a significant reversal of a downward trend observed over the past two years. The delinquency grew by $22 million between January and June, averaging an increase of $3.7 million per month. This rise in unpaid contributions directly impacts the fund's reserves and, more critically, the social benefits and health coverage rights of workers.

If these contributions are not received, the fund's reserve is affected, but there are also workers' rights because a worker whose quota has not been paid loses social benefits, loses health coverage, and loses the possibility of retiring when their quota is accumulated.

— Ana PatiñoAn economist explains the impact of employer debt on workers' rights and the fund's reserves.

Economist Ana Patiño highlighted the consequences for employees, stating that workers whose contributions are not paid lose access to social benefits, health coverage, and future retirement possibilities. Beyond the monetary increase, the number of delinquent employers has also risen, with 184 companies that were current with their obligations at the end of last year now showing outstanding payments.

Guilia De Sanctis, president of Apede, emphasized that while employers bear primary responsibility, the CSS also has a duty to collect these payments. She noted that employers withholding employee contributions and failing to pay them constitutes a criminal offense. Patiño further urged the CSS to increase its oversight of employers, pointing to the existence of collection departments and executive courts within the institution.

100% is the responsibility of employers, but it is also the responsibility of the Social Security Fund to collect, and of course, in cases where workers are charged and companies do not pay after having retained the money, it has a criminal impact, it is a crime.

— Guilia De SanctisThe president of Apede states that employers are fully responsible for debt, but the CSS must also collect payments, calling non-payment after withholding funds a crime.

The majority of this debt, over 60%, is concentrated in the province of Panama, followed by Chiriquí and Colón. Employer delinquency remains a major financial challenge for the CSS, significantly affecting its revenue collection and the funding of its various programs.

The Social Security Fund has a collection section, it has executive courts.

— Ana PatiñoThe economist points to existing mechanisms within the CSS for collecting employer debts.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by TVN Panamá in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog