Older persons make up 7.25 per cent of the population of Ecuador as of 2015. In order to address poverty among older persons, the Government of the Republic of Ecuador approved the Social Security Law in 2001, creating a legal framework to ensure income security for older persons. Ecuador made further progress in 2008 when social security was enshrined as a fundamental right in the 2008 Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador.
Ecuador’s 2001 Social Security Law provides a legal framework for a more equitable pension scheme structured to reach older persons in need through both non-contributory and individual savings schemes. This legal framework was without constitutional foundations until 2008 when the rights of older persons were safeguarded in the new constitution. As a foundation, Article 34 outlines the responsibility of the State: “social security shall be governed by the principles of solidarity, obligation, universality [and] the State shall guarantee and ensure full exercise of the right to social security for all.” Article 36, moreover, entitles older persons with the right to “receive priority and specialized care…social and economic inclusion and protection.” This is strengthened by Article 38, which calls for “reducing the dependence of older persons, securing their full social integration…with adequate economic and psychological assistance”. These constitutional and legal provisions create a strong legal framework for the sustainable protection of the rights of older persons and their right to live free from poverty.
Ecuador’s legal framework for income security among older persons is the outcome of debate within the Ministry for the Coordination of Social Development, promoted a shared vision and the bases upon which legal foundations could take place. Based on these constitutional provisions, the Government of the Republic of Ecuador is now mandated to provide basic income security to older persons. Through this process lawmakers in Ecuador have acted boldly to uphold equality and ensure that constitutional and legal provisions for income security form strong legal foundations for the creation of a social protection floor.
Further Reading:
- Government of the Republic of Ecuador (2008). Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador. Accessed from https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Ecuador_2008.pdf on December 2016.
Alternative resource from UNECLAC, accessed from http://www.cepal.org/en/publications/social-protection-systems-latin-america-and-caribbean-ecuador on December 2016.