Afores report unprecedented levels of unemployment withdrawals

Alejandro Alegría

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, August 17, 2025, p. 15

In the first seven months of 2025, savings managed by retirement fund administrators (Afore) enjoyed unprecedented returns, although unemployment benefits also reached unprecedented levels, according to official data.

Information from the National Commission for the Retirement Savings System (Consar) indicates that between January and July, the 10 Afores operating in the country obtained capital gains for workers amounting to 608.5 billion pesos, 169 percent more than the amount reported for the same period last year, which was 225.9 billion pesos.

The figure for the first seven months of the year is not only higher than the cumulative returns obtained for workers by the administrators at the end of 2024, when they stood at 556.7 billion pesos, but it is also the highest figure on record.

However, data from the regulatory agency also indicates that unemployment withdrawals from Afore pension funds totaled 21.8 billion pesos between January and July, a figure that is also a historic high, as it is 17.6 percent higher than the same period in 2024.

In the seventh month alone, unemployment benefits totaled 3.582 billion pesos, a figure that showed a 19.1 percent increase in nominal terms compared to the same period in 2024.

Coopel ranked as the Afore with the highest unemployment benefits in July, reaching 748 million pesos. Azteca followed with a total of 634 million, while Banamex ranked third, with 540 million pesos.

In July alone, earnings from workers' retirement savings reached 74.3 billion pesos. This is the third consecutive month of positive growth, following Consar's April report of losses of 31.6 billion.

Furthermore, the data reported for the seventh month of the year represented a 10.06 percent contraction compared to June, when the agency reported that earnings from workers' savings reached 84.5 billion pesos.

Excluding data from the fourth month of the year, the amount reported in July is the second lowest after the 29 billion euros recorded by the agency in March.

In contrast, the returns on savings managed by fund managers, amounting to 174.4 billion pesos, reported in May, remain the best level so far this year.

In recent weeks, Julio César Cervantes Parra, president of Consar, noted that the savings of workers managed by the Afores achieved a "historic" return in the first six months of the year.

According to the official, the capital gains recorded in the SAR so far reflect the strength of the system, which manages nearly 70 million individual accounts with resources equivalent to 7.5 trillion pesos.

The increase in yields occurs despite the complex international landscape caused by U.S. tariff policies, which have affected investment. Despite the uncertainty generated, the Mexican economy has managed to grow in the second quarter of the year.