Savings, debts, investment: the dilemma of the June bonus

He June 30th and the December 20th of each year are key dates for workers in Colombia, since the maximum deadline for workers to employers recognize the payment of the service premium.

This payment is arranged in the article 306 of the Substantive Labor Codewhere it is stipulated that the premium is a social benefit that the employer is obliged to pay to its employee “will correspond to 30 days of salary per year, which will be recognized in two payments”. If a worker has not worked the entire semester, the premium will be recognized proportionally to the days worked.

(Also: June bonus: do all pensioners receive an additional payment?).

The formula to calculate the premium It is done by multiplying the salary by the days worked in the semester and then dividing the result by 360 days.

They also have the right to this social benefit domestic service workers, family service drivers, daily workers or farm workers.

(We recommend: Be careful! These are the young workers who will not receive the June bonus).

Although independent workers, those under a contract to provide services, temporary workers, those who receive a full salary and occasional or temporary workers are not covered by this benefit, if they can organize their finances and have a savings plan.

In order to maximize these savings, Clever Finance and the Future Pension and Severance Fund They developed an Excel tool that allows you to simulate the value of the premium to be received and offers savings suggestions available for download on the Porvenir website.

Although many allocate their premium for immediate expenses such as vacations, school fees or shoppingit is possible to get more out of this money by adopting savings habits.

(We recommend: When do they pay the mid-year premium to pensioners in Colombia?).

Porvenir, through the Savings Academy, recommends allocating part of the premium to pay existing debts and reduce your financial burden.

Likewise, make savings or investments with which you can grow the value of this income and obtain benefits in the future.

In the case of Porvenir, This AFP offers more than 60 investment portfolios. You can also, to the extent possible, create an emergency fund that allows you to cover unexpected and urgent situations.

Financial education experts emphasize the importance of managing the premium in homes as an example for children, encouraging savings habits and financial planning from an early age.

For its part, Colfondos says that a fundamental purpose for the future is to strengthen the pension and one mechanism is through the voluntary pension, which is a mechanism that aims to help people save in an individual account to complement their income at the time of retirement labor.

This opportunity allows savers invest in different assets such as bonds, stocks, real estate projects, foreign currency, among otherswhile accessing tax benefits.

(Also read: June bonus: how do you know if you are entitled to a double payment?).

José Julián Martínez, voluntary pension manager at Colfondossaid that as investment experts, “We are committed to accompanying all Colombians to achieve their long-term financial goals. Voluntary pensions were created with this purpose: to democratize the possibility that more Colombians can save additional resources for their pension. However, this possibility comes with great responsibility, since like any goal, saving for your pension involves allocating a part of your semiannual income with perseverance and discipline; In the case of the premium, allocating part or all of this income to savings is a decision that will bear important fruits in the long term”.

Considering that a large part of workers allocate additional premium resources to non-vital purposes, establishing a six-monthly savings and investment plan makes it possible to better manage this income and obtain benefits, says the AFP. And he recommends that for every $100 of premium someone invests for the next 20 years, when they reach retirement age, You will be able to have around $25 additional monthly in your pension, that is, 25% of what you saved from your premium.

HOLMAN RODRÍGUEZ MARTÍNEZ
Portfolio Journalist