Where Next With Pension Policy Change in Latin America? Comparative Insights From Chile and Uruguay

Since the mid‐2000s, Latin American countries have been re‐reforming their pension systems to address the issue of low coverage and low future pensions. Chile and Uruguay, pioneers of social protection in the region, show diverging policy change outcomes. While Uruguay has implemented a series of reforms aiming at strengthening the private and the public pillars, Chile, notwithstanding a significant reform in 2008, has been debating significant change entailing possible more involvement of the state in pension provision and has recently adopted a reform that will challenge the dominance of the private pillar. We argue that the political institutional setting and the legacy of the pension system (both in terms of its design and performance) are key to understanding this diverging path. We contend that our analysis provides a useful framework to understand pension policy (re‐)reforms in other countries in the region and thus contributes to the pension and policy continuity and change literature. Related Articles Angelaki, Marina, and Leandro N. Carrera. 2015. “Radical Pension Reforms After the Crisis: A Comparative Analysis of Argentina and Greece.” Politics & Policy 43(3): 378–400. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12117 . Jakee, Keith, and Keith Stacy. 2021. “Revisiting Pension Reform in Sweden: The Role of Corporatism (and Why it Matters).” Politics & Policy 49(3): 651–81. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12405 . Milva, Geri, and Fernanda Villareal. 2022. “The Myth of Economic Incentives around the Debate on the Design of Optimal Pension Systems: A Survival Analysis for the Argentine Case.” Politics & Policy 50(1): 795–809. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12485 .