Pensions for Everybody

When Chile's Parliament passed historic Law 4054 in 1924, social security was introduced to the Western Hemisphere (the first U.S. federal law was passed in 1935). Since then, Chile has fleshed out the sys! tern to the point where every money earner is entitled, bylaw, to cradle-to-grave insurance against childbirth costs, doctor bills, hospital bills, disability losses and funeral expenses. Manual laborers, furthermore, get old-age pensions up to full working pay.

A disastrous inflation has made many pensions tragic jokes; some workers have accepted lump-sum payoffs of only $35. Nevertheless, Chileans are solidly in favor of the benefits; the number 4054 has become sacred.

The last remaining gap in the system has been old-age pensions for white-collar workers, who otherwise enjoyed all benefits. Last week President Gabriel Gonzalez Videla closed the gap. He signed a bill that gives salaried employees pensions equal to 100% of their pay at 60, plus a benefit that now seems all-important: an escalator clause guaranteed to keep their retirement pay abreast of the cost of living.

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