In early March, thousands of persons noted that the money in their pension funds was less than the month before. Case by case, hundreds and then thousands began questioning how this could happen. How could money “disappear” from the amount already in the account? Unions and citizen groups including ProConsumidor Agency got involved, and finally the Chamber of Deputies began to ask questions.
As a result, the long-time head of the Association of Pension Fund Administrators, Kirsis Jaquez came before the deputies to explain things. She told the legislators that between January and February 2022, the deposits in pesos had grown by RD$10.5 million and that the investments in US dollars fell by US$72.3 million (over RD$3.9 billion). However, her explanations did not sit well with either the deputies nor several of the senators.
Deputy Ruben Maldonado, the spokesman for the Fuerza del Pueblo block of deputies, together with Reformist senator Ramon Rogelio Genao, issued a statement that said that there were no rational arguments to explain the huge reduction in the individual pension accounts. Senator Genao that the explanations provided by Jaquez were not coherent and that there should be no relation between dollar accounts and the pension accounts in Dominican pesos. Maldonado called on the Labor Minister Luis Miguel De Camps and the Superintendent of Pensions, Ramon Contreras, to provide explanations to the people as to what happened to their money.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
28 March 2022