Deputy Jaime Araya, of the Party for Democracy (PPD), said he is willing to vote in favor of another withdrawal from AFP funds (Pension Fund Administrators). The People's Party (PDG) is pushing the proposal because of high unemployment in the country.
"I have no problem supporting pension withdrawals. Now, what you hope to see are proposals that really make sense," Araya told Radio Infinita, as reported by T13. The lawmaker added that he has "reservations" and "doubts," and acknowledged that he has not yet seen the bill.
His argument centers on the losses the funds suffered. According to Araya, the money lost amounts to "more or less" the equivalent of the third withdrawal. "There was all this talk of 'Not with your money,' but in the end, it was with our money," he said.
Araya is not the only lawmaker outside the PDG who is open to the idea. Deputy Patricio Pinilla, of the Christian Democratic Party (DC), previously said that such an initiative "is viable today." On the opposing side, Republican Deputy Agustín Romero told T13 that "blowing up our pension funds is not the answer," because "the long-term effects are very significant."
The debate comes amid difficult economic figures. As an opinion column published in BioBioChile noted, unemployment reached 9.6% in the June-August quarter of 2026. The Central Bank also lowered its growth forecast for this year to a range of between 0.25% and 0.75%. To give you an idea, that means an economy that has practically stalled.
The author of that column supports another withdrawal and argues for discussing it without dogma. The author also acknowledges the arguments against it: more money in circulation can increase consumption and put upward pressure on prices, making inflation harder to control. And withdrawing money saved for old age now can mean lower pensions in the future.
The same column mentions another cost: the effects previous withdrawals may have had on capital markets, interest rates and access to mortgages. If you are thinking about buying a home, that point affects you too. According to the columnist, those warnings should help shape a better potential withdrawal, for example by limiting the amount, rather than end the discussion.
The details are still missing. The final text of the PDG bill is not yet available, and Araya made his vote conditional on reviewing it. That text will determine how much could be withdrawn and who would be eligible.
