Draft bill 147.

Summary.

The draft bill amends the mandatory participation principle of the Social Security Fund to require employees to become members and employers to register in the Republic of Panama. It makes participation mandatory for Panamanian or foreign workers who provide services in the country, except self-employed workers. For employees, coverage includes Sickness and Maternity, Disability, Old Age and Death, and Occupational Risk. The Board of Directors would regulate membership for occasional, seasonal and domestic workers, including their contributions, benefits and forms of coverage.

Self-employed workers could join the pension system voluntarily, solely under the Solidarity Capitalization Component, and would pay their contributions through the methods established by the Social Security Fund. The text sets contributions at 9.36% of contributory income for Disability, Old Age and Death and 8.5% of voluntarily declared income for Sickness and Maternity. It provides for regulatory adjustments to the latter amount, incentives for voluntary enrollment, and surcharges and interest on late payments.

The amendment to Article 70 lists the resources allocated to administration and benefits. They include contributions from employees, employers, self-employed workers, pensioners, subsidy beneficiaries and voluntary members; contributions on the Thirteenth Month payment; a share of tax revenue; state contributions and subsidies; and income from trusts, investments, agreements, fines and donations. It establishes employer contribution periods through March 1, 2027, from March 2, 2027, to March 1, 2029, and beginning March 2, 2029. It provides for an annual state contribution toward the actuarial deficit of Disability, Old Age and Death, subject to analysis and a 4% adjustment limit. It also includes income associated with water resources, protected areas, telecommunications, ports, electricity concessions, notaries, consulates, assets confiscated by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas), and the National Charity Lottery (Lotería Nacional de Beneficencia). It maintains the contribution to Sickness and Maternity Risk under Cabinet Decree No. 14 of April 22, 2009, and provides for security deposits in litigation decided by the Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia).

The text provides for fines ranging from 100 balboas (B/.lOO.OO) to 5,000 balboas (B/.5 000.00) for failure to register or enroll and for failure to give notice of cessation of operations or replacement of an employer; it sets a fine of 100 balboas (B/.I00.00) for domestic employers. It guarantees a minimum replacement rate of 60% for the Old-Age Retirement Pension. It governs when the death of a member or pensioner gives rise to survivors’ pensions and excludes those who were receiving the Universal Basic Pension. It grants a Widowhood Pension to a spouse or, under the specified conditions, a cohabiting partner; it provides for certificates from the Electoral Tribunal’s National Civil Registry Directorate (Dirección Nacional de Registro Civil del Tribunal Electoral) and other evidence of cohabitation. It sets the pension at 50% of the applicable pension and governs its duration and continuation.

The addition of Articles 134-A, 134-B and 134-C to Law 51 of 2005 establishes daily and monthly patient-care metrics, prohibits medical staff from seeing patients at private clinics during their 8-hour public-sector workday, and provides for penalties up to dismissal. It sets maximum time limits for consultations, examinations and non-urgent surgeries, oversight by the Director General, and an annual report. It authorizes scholarships and funding for general practitioners to specialize, conditional on at least 5 years of exclusive service. The National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) would prepare and publish a consolidated text of Law 462 of March 18, 2025. The measures would affect employers, workers, pensioners, health services, insurers, banana companies and the economic sectors included among the sources of funding.