Deputy Jorge Guzmán (Evópoli) called for penalties against those responsible for the plunge in AFP Fund E (pension fund administrators), according to Cooperativa. Speaking on the station's El Primer Café program, he rejected claims that the executive branch is defending the administrators.
"This must be investigated, the Superintendency of Pensions must launch an investigation," Guzmán said. The Superintendency is the state agency that oversees the AFPs.
A comparison helps explain why the blow hurts. The funds range from A, the riskiest, to E, the most conservative. Fund E acts as the system's seat belt: it typically holds the savings of people nearing retirement, precisely to avoid shocks.
Guzmán said the losses in funds E and D represent "a significant loss of assets for pensioners" and also damage the system's credibility. Cooperativa's report does not specify how much each fund fell or over what period.
The lawmaker said President Kast, through the finance minister, had called for an investigation and penalties if anyone is found responsible. "This portrayal of the government as defending the AFPs is, frankly, fictitious, it isn't real," he added.
Republican Party Deputy Agustín Romero said they would stand "on the side of the members" and demand accountability. In his view, those responsible are "those who made the investment decisions".
Romero argued that pension funds cannot be left "at the mercy of commercial strategies". He noted that the law sets limits and that the state must oversee compliance and impose penalties.
In the opposition, Deputy Constanza Martínez (Broad Front) criticized the management of funds belonging to people nearing retirement. According to her, the loss reached 11 billion dollars, a figure no other source in the record confirms.
Martínez added that the legitimacy problem cannot be resolved by asking people to trust the AFPs. "The problem is that the AFPs don't provide good pensions," she said.
Alejandra Krauss (DC) said the AFPs manage "ethical public goods" and that Fund E's investment decisions were "financially speculative" in nature. She also called for a decision on how to compensate affected members.
If your savings are in Fund E or D, the next step is a possible investigation by the Superintendency of Pensions. According to the lawmakers, that process must establish what happened and whether there will be penalties.
