Overview
- Recent coverage on August 24–25 clarified that retiro programado is a Ley 97 option where an Afore pays a monthly amount based on the individual account balance, investment returns and an actuarial life‑expectancy estimate.
- To qualify in 2026 workers must be at least 60 years old and have 875 weeks of IMSS contributions, with the weeks requirement rising by 25 each year until 1,000 in 2031.
- Advisers cite planning benchmarks of roughly 1.8 million to 2.5 million pesos in an Afore to start with an initial monthly pension of about 13,000 to 17,000 pesos, but those figures are planning references not guarantees.
- Payments under retiro programado are recalculated by the Afore every year and stop when the account is exhausted, so retirees must buy mandatory survival insurance for beneficiaries and accept that longevity risk remains with them.
- Consar data show the retirement system holds about 78 million accounts, yet few people have used retiro programado so real outcomes and any possible government support for exhausted accounts remain untested.