Social protection policy in Colombia

Marcela Meléndez, Nicolas Peña Tenjo and Laura Tenjo

No wp-2026-9, WIDER Working Paper Series from World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER)

Abstract: Colombia has a complex legal framework meant to protect the population against basic risks through a combination of contributory and non-contributory social insurance. The population is almost perfectly split between them, with eligibility to participate in the latter determined by poverty. Health insurance works relatively well under both. In contrast, protection against old age works poorly. Only 20 out of every 100 workers fulfil the requirements for a contributory pension because of a high informality rate (56 per cent) and frequent worker transitions in and out of formality.

Keywords: Colombia; Social protection; Insurance; Social assistance; Labour market (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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