File photo.
A red cloth demanding help from the Colombian government - mainly food - is seen at the home of the Wounaan indigenous people, displaced victims of the country's civil conflict, in the Ciudad Bolívar neighborhood, south of Bogotá, on April 13, 2020. (Credit: RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Images)
(CNN Spanish) --
Solidarity income payments will end on December 31, 2022, as President Gustavo Petro announced that due to lack of budget, the government will not be able to continue paying this economic aid created during the covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Until the payment of September 2022, Solidarity Income beneficiaries received 190,000 pesos each month, which was accumulated to be paid every two months.
In other words, each household received about 380,000 pesos (about US$100 at current exchange rates).
An amount that increased as of July 2022 and that may reach up to 520,000 pesos for certain beneficiaries.
But President Petro said at the beginning of November that in the remainder of the year —that is, for the November and December payments— this payment will be transformed into 500,000 pesos a month for mothers who are heads of households.
(It's about US$ 103 at the current exchange rate)
The beneficiaries are families with limited economic resources identified in the Sisbén databases, which classify families by "their ability to generate income and quality of life," according to the National Planning Department.
Solidarity income is received by families who do NOT receive other social benefits such as Families in Action, Youth in Action, who have sales tax compensation, or the Elderly Protection program, Colombia Mayor.
advertising
This is a subsidy that was created by the Colombian government during the coronavirus pandemic to support families or households in extreme poverty and vulnerability to mitigate the negative impacts on that population that resulted from the social emergency of covid-19.
The Solidarity Income would be underfunded, says the Petro team
By 2022, this program will benefit just over 4 million families, one million more than in 2021, and will also have some changes to ensure that those most in need receive more economic benefits.
For the payment of September and October, the Government of Colombia allocated more than 1.6 billion pesos, about US$ 370 million at the current exchange rate.
When will payments be made?
According to the calendar of the previous government, which ended in August of this year, Solidarity Income payments were expected to be made in the second week of November.
However, with the change of government and Petro's announcement, a delivery date for the financial aid has not been confirmed so far.
"We still don't have delivery dates," says a message in the help chat of the Department of Social Prosperity page that says that the start of the next incentive period will be announced shortly.
There is also no official information on program updates, that is, if those 500,000 pesos will be given to all beneficiaries or will be delivered according to the Sisbén IV classification.
Petro said that the "head of household mothers" who have children "in childhood" will receive the Solidarity Income in the last payment of the year, but did not detail what will happen to the other beneficiaries who currently receive money from this program.
Solidarity Income Payments for 2022
Payments for 2022, when the program increased coverage, began the second week of March and will be made every two months, like this.
(The first payment was in January to 3 million families).
Since March they have increased to 4 million.
Second payment:
second week of March
Third payment:
third week of May
Fourth payment:
third week of July
Fifth payment:
third week of September
Sixth payment:
No current date.
What the beneficiaries received according to their Sisbén classification
Starting in March of this year, families received about 190,000 pesos every two months, meaning that each payment was 380,000 pesos.
As of July 2022, the program will receive differentiated payments that will depend on the level of Sisbén IV and the number of people in each household.
A household with a member in group A will receive 400,000 pesos every two months.
A household with a member of group B, 380,000
A household with two people in group A will receive 440,000 pesos
A household with two people in group B will receive 396,000
A household with three members in group A will receive 480,000
A household with three members in group B, 412,000
A household with 4 or more members in group A will receive 520,000.
A household with 4 or more members of group B, 428,000.
Group C households will continue to receive 380,000 pesos in bimonthly payments.
Petro said that the program ends in 2022 and that the mothers who are heads of families will receive 500,000 pesos.
What happens if you don't claim your money?
If you had been receiving your Solidarity Income contributions in your bank account until December 2021, but right now the money has not arrived, it is likely that you have had some rejection issue or problem with your account, but that does not mean that you have left Income supportive, said Edgar Picón, director of Monetary Transfers of the Department of Social Prosperity, in mid-March in a question and answer session on YouTube.
"At this time, it is most likely that the payment is available at a 'Supergiros' point for cash collection. For this it is necessary to approach with the ID and they will give you the payment," said the official.
"The national government is aware that there are beneficiaries who have not yet been able to claim any of the drafts, so they can be received accumulated," says the website, but warns that "... only up to three payments of the Program".
And if someone doesn't claim contributions for three consecutive periods, no payments will be scheduled for the following months, she said.
Picón recalled that the Department of Social Protection does not request data from people through links and that the only way to benefit from this program is through the Sisbén IV survey, and not by registering elsewhere.
Colombia newsSolidarity IncomeInstaNews
