Carlos Slim Proposes Increasing Retirement Age in Mexico

he maintains that the core problem of employment in Mexico is not a lack of productivity, but rather the way work hours are distributed. His proposal suggests that workers should labor only three days a week, but with extended shifts of 11 or 12 hours daily, accumulating between 33 and 36 hours weekly. According to his reasoning, this scheme would allow companies to organize staggered shifts, which would open the door to hiring more people without affecting current production levels or salaries. Slim has insisted that, with adequate operational reorganization, this model could benefit both companies and workers, especially young people who currently struggle to enter formal employment.

Key points of his proposal include:

• Maintaining full salary despite the reduction in workdays.
• Reorganizing shifts to expand hiring.
• Enhancing productivity through improved time management.
• Facilitating access to the labor market for new profiles. The businessman has also rejected four-day work week schemes, considering that they do not generate enough additional vacancies and that their impact on job creation is limited.

Increasing the Retirement Age in Mexico: The Most Controversial Aspect of the Proposal

For the magnate, reducing weekly workdays is only viable if accompanied by a longer working life, especially in a country where life expectancy continues to rise. Slim argues that the current retirement model is financially unsustainable given population aging and pressure on pension systems. From his perspective, extending working life would allow balancing the reduction in days worked and ensuring the stability of the system.

This approach seeks to address two major structural challenges:

• The deficit in pension systems, both public and private.
• The low rate of formal employment, which limits contributions to the system. However, the proposal does not differentiate between economic sectors, income levels, or physical conditions of workers, which has raised concerns among specialists.

Can the Pension System Sustain Retirement at 75 Years Old?

One of the main questions revolves around the capacity of IMSS, ISSSTE, and retirement savings systems to adapt to a massive extension of working life. Experts warn that for retirement at 75 years old to be viable, it would be essential to:

• Reform the labor and social security legal framework.
• Redesign contribution and retirement schemes.
• Establish gradual transitions based on sector and type of employment.
• Implement pilot programs before widespread adoption.

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