No One Writes to the Colonel Yet: On the Human Right of Aging with Dignity and its Reality in Colombia

Edwin Alejandro Castelblanco Gracia
Luis Bernardo Díaz Gamboa
Federico Sánchez Riaño
Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia

Abstract:

In Colombia, the right to social security has historically been tied to employment, meaning that those with formal employment access health care and acquire the right to be protected during old age through a pension. This human right was elevated to a constitutional right in 1991. Since then, some constitutional reforms and, especially, numerous decrees have sought to address the issue of the old age protection. However, the reforms continue to be focused on those with employment ties. Despite various bills, the reality does not show significant improvements in the situation of the elderly population, as only a maximum of 25% of the population reaching old age acquires the right to enjoy a pension enabling a dignified old age. The rest of the population is left at the mercy of family and social solidarity, some precarious subsidies provided by the State, and, to a large extent, abandonment. The study was fundamentally a theoretical-qualitative analysis aiming to highlight the structural conditions—beyond legal complexities—that prevent a large part of the population in Colombia from accessing a pension under dignified conditions, as well as the cases of those who, despite meeting the requirements, must undergo a tortuous process to effectively enjoy this right.

Keywords: social security, old age, human dignity, pension, human right, poverty.