Colombia’s constitutional court met for a hearing on Thursday over the future of pensions for former ministers and former congress members.
“These decisions affect the goal of improving the financial sustainability of the pension system, as they can have a cost of between $6.2 million and $11.25 million for the Judicial Branch, Attorney General and the Comptroller General of the Republic,” reported local media.
The ruling is part of a series of cases on how to manage Colombian justice official’s pensions, where there are conflicting views between various courts, the Labor Chamber, and the State Council.
In several instances judges have ordered pension payments that stretch beyond the limit of the law. Congress has in turn filed counter-suits against judges and their pension rulings.
Depending on the outcome of the ruling benefits to court judges and other civil servants could increase pension payments by $17.5 million, putting serious strain on the financial sustainability of Colombia’s government pension program.
