Concept and objective
The Family Allowance Compensation Funds (CCAF) are private law corporations, with their own equity and non-profit, which have had a sustained development and growth in the last four decades, mainly, both in our country and abroad.
The objective of the Compensation Funds was originally the administration of "social security benefits" which tended to the development and well-being of the worker and his family.
Today, the Compensation Funds provide a wide range of social security benefits to their members, in addition to the basic objectives mentioned above. The new areas in which the Compensation Funds have entered are: housing, culture, health, training, recreation, personal development, improvement.
Development of the Compensation Funds in Chile.
The Compensation Funds have their origin in France, a country that achieved a high evolution in Family Allowance and especially in the Compensation Funds aspect.
This influence triggered the birth of the Compensation Funds in Chile, but specifically these were developed by the initiative of private employers' institutions in favor of workers.
In 1937 the Government enacted a law that establishes family allowances as compulsory for workers in private companies and in 1945 public sector workers were favored with compulsory allowances.
The Compensation Funds were legally recognized in 1953 by DFL 245
The last law that was published in the area of Compensation Funds was 18,833, which established a new general statute that, among other aspects, liberalized the market for these entities, expanded the existence of benefits and services, simplified the accession processes of companies, accentuating competition and easing the requirements to form and elect a Board of Directors, thereby reinforcing the autonomous and private nature of these institutions.
With the participation of the private sector in the Compensation Funds, a social credit procedure was established in which the responsibility of the worker prevailed to satisfy his own needs. Other initiatives are the provision of services, through which the compensation fund develops, among other activities, contribution collection, data entry, information processing, payment of pensions and issuance of medical care orders, both to the institutions of the old as of the new regime.
Legal nature.
The Compensation Funds arose as a social necessity without abiding by regulations or laws of any kind.
The first legal provision corresponds to DFL 245 of 1953, which does not even define the institution.
Our legal system has established that the Compensation Funds are definitely "non-profit private law corporations", the title of corporation was given because the institution was not for profit, but this rating was criticized, Since some critics considered that although the institution had some characteristics of a corporation, it also differed in several aspects, such as that the corporation, has as a basic element a group of individuals and also seeks the benefit of its members and the box is made up of a single legal person (employers' association), and seek the benefit of people outside of them such as members of the beneficiary's family. Also the boxes according to law 18.833 are supervised and supervised by the superintendency and by the general comptroller of the republic, because they administer resources from the treasury
All this makes the compensation funds differ from the definition of a corporation due to the characteristics described above.
Affiliation and Disenrollment of the Compensation Banks
Membership
It is defined in general terms as an act by which an individual is integrated into a corresponding social security system.
They may join a CCAF: any private company and additionally the teaching staff of the municipalities or educational and mutual security corporations.
The affiliation of a company must be requested in writing to the board of directors of the savings bank, accompanied by the background that justifies the fulfillment of the requirements established in the law, which must include, among others, the list of workers duly signed and authorized, always and when half plus one of its workers deems it convenient for this, a majority act of disaffiliation must be submitted to the previous fund and a majority agreement of affiliation agreement. It is evident that the decision of the workers to join a CCAF affects the entire company
Disenrollment
Disenrollment of a company from a Compensation Fund is a voluntary act which, like affiliation, requires the will of its workers. In this case, the agreement must be adopted by an absolute majority of the workers of the company or establishment.
The date of disaffiliation corresponds to the date of affiliation to another Fund. Disenrollment is, for its part, individual, which does not prevent several companies from being able to disenroll simultaneously.
On the other hand, companies require a minimum membership period of 6 months to be able to disenroll. The reason for this requirement is to prevent the financial imbalance of the Compensation Banks due to a constant disenrollment of companies.
Both the affiliation and disaffiliation of a company to a Compensation Fund requires a request addressed to the President of the Board of Directors of the Fund. The Board of Directors will be in charge of ruling on the acceptance or denial of said request, which affects through an agreement, the quorum of which will be a simple majority.
Functions of the CCAF
General description of the benefits and benefits provided by the Compensation Banks
Law 18,833, in its article 19, indicates that the Compensation Funds have the function of administering social security benefits. Said function corresponds to the administration of general benefits and Private benefits.
CCAF benefits
The General Benefits
They are those benefits that are administered by the Savings Banks empowered by the State, according to the principle of subsidiarity, being regimes of general application, established by law, and which refer to: family allowance, unemployment benefit, work disability subsidy, prior authorization of the corresponding authority the administration of these benefits considers only affiliated workers, since there are other institutions that also administer these benefits so that everyone accesses the benefits of the system
Family Benefit Scheme
The Family Allowance Compensation Funds owe their name to this benefit system because, although the law has empowered them to administer other general social security benefits, family benefits are the only ones that are mandatory and must start their operation with it.
The benefits provided by the compensation funds are the family allowance and the maternal family allowance, both of a similar nature. The benefit of the family allowance is the one that characterizes the family benefit system and consists of a cash benefit supplementary to the salary, which is paid for each family burden recognized as such by current legislation, in addition, the pregnant working woman has Right to a benefit of a similar nature called "maternal family allowance" which is paid for the period of the pregnancy. Workers are also entitled to this allowance with respect to their spouses who have the quality of family burden and are pregnant.
- Beneficiaries
They are the people who have the right to receive family allowance for the family charges that the law accepts these are:
- All dependent workers in the public and private sectors
- The independent workers affiliated to a social security system, that among its benefits is that of the family allowance.
-.Dependent and independent workers covered by the subsidy regimes for incapacity for work, accidents at work due to occupational disease or unemployment.
- The pensioners of any pension system.
- Viudez pension beneficiaries and the mother of the natural children of the worker or pensioner.
- The institutions of the State or recognized by the Supreme Government, which are responsible for the upbringing and maintenance of orphaned or abandoned children and invalids.
- Causers
They are the people who can be invoked as family charges by a beneficiary and who originate the right to pay the family allowance. These are:
- The spouse, when he depends on his working husband and the invalid spouse, when he depends on his working wife.
- Children and adopted children up to eighteen years of age, and those older than 24 years of age, single, who follow regular courses in secondary, normal, technical, specialized or higher education in or recognized by state institutions.
- Grandchildren and great-grandchildren, orphans of father and mother or abandoned by them, under the same conditions indicated for the child offenders.
- The widowed mother.
- Ancestors over 65 years of age.
- Orphaned or abandoned children, in the conditions indicated for the child offenders, and the invalids who are in charge of the institutions of the State or recognized by it, that provide for their upbringing and maintenance
To make the family allowance effective, the causes must:
- Live at the expense of the beneficiary who invokes it.
- Not receiving an income equal to or greater than 50% of the mine income. ($ 55,600)
- Financing and Control
Family benefits are part of a Single Family Benefits System. The law establishes that this system is financed by a single fund, which is called the “Single Fund for Family Benefits and Unemployment Subsidies”, constituted with fiscal contributions that are set in the budget law.
To formulate the budget, the Compensation Funds (and other institutions that administer the benefits) must prepare budgets and particular programs that establish the probable number of assignments to pay and the financial needs for system administration expenses. The Superintendency of Social Security will qualify the budgets and programs and prepare a budget and program with these antecedents. Subsequently, the Superintendency will propose said program for the consideration of the Ministries of Finance and Labor, which will be approved by supreme decree.
Unemployment Subsidy Scheme
This regime consists of a general social security benefit administered by the Compensation Funds and is optional as its administration is at their request and with the authorization of the corresponding authority.
The unemployment benefit is a pecuniary benefit, the purpose of which is to protect the workers with a subsidy, providing them with economic support while they are inactive and for a maximum period of time established by law.
Regime for Work Disability Subsidies
This subsidy consists of a cash benefit and is granted to the worker in order to substitute his remuneration while he is under medical leave. It is paid for the period that the disability lasts and allows maintaining the pension continuity in the pension and health regimes to which the worker is affiliated. The CCAF administer this regime only with respect to the workers affiliated to them and excluding from these those who are in turn affiliated with a Social Security Institution (Isapre).
The Particular Benefits
Private benefits are benefits that the Compensation Funds grant their members with their own resources, constituting benefits of a social and family nature, there are the regimes of: social credit benefits, additional benefits and complementary benefits. These regimes allow establishing differences between the various Compensation Funds.
These particular benefits are all established by law, social credit and additional benefits are governed by special regulations of a general nature for the entire Compensation Fund system and by specific regulations issued by each institution. On the other hand, the complementary benefits do not have a general regulation, but a special one for each Fund.
The administration of these particular benefits is optional for the Compensation Funds, and covers the workers affiliated to them.
Social credit benefits scheme
The social credit scheme consists of cash loans granted by the Compensation Funds to its affiliated workers, to cover their needs and those of their family allowance related to: housing, durable consumer goods, work, education, health, recreation, family contingencies and other needs of a similar nature.
This regime began to operate, with the purpose of allowing workers to have permanent sources of financing, based on the payment of interest rates. Thus, the social nature of this benefit focused on expanding and facilitating access for all workers, without any discrimination, to a permanent and institutional credit system.
Social credit benefits are an advantageous alternative for the labor sector compared to others from the financial market, what is appreciated is the speed and opportunity in the granting of credits by CCAF parties, the amount of which is related to the worker's remuneration. or requesting affiliate and its term depending on market conditions.
The credit payment mechanism is advantageous for the worker and safe for the creditor, since the obligations are amortized through payroll discounts, applying the same payment and collection rules that apply to provisional contributions.
Finally, for the compensation funds, social credit has been the most important capitalization factor and the main source of financing for the social fund.
Additional Benefits Regime
They are those that provide the compensation funds consisting of money, in kind and service for affiliated workers and their families. These benefits can only be granted for the satisfaction of needs that are not covered by other benefits that CCAF administers and that are caused by events such as marriage, birth, death or schooling., For activities of a cultural, sports, recreational, artistic nature or of social assistance or for other facts or activities of a similar nature to those expressed.
On the other hand, there are a series of benefits aimed at helping the affiliated worker and his charges who are studying at the university, such as: allocation of university enrollment, study scholarships, etc.
The compensation fund system presents, in several of its entities, dental benefits, as well as various cultural, recreational and social benefits, granted directly by the entity or through agreements with other institutions.
Supplementary Benefits Regime
It consists of private benefits provided by the compensation funds, contained in different complementary regimes to the others administered by these entities.
These benefits do not constitute a regime comparable to that of social or additional credit benefits, since the law does not refer to a singular benefit regime but to “complementary benefit regimes”.
The development of these regimes has not been significant, and there are some interesting initiatives in the field of administration of company welfare funds, tourism, family protection against catastrophic situations, training and sports.
Role of the CCAF in the Housing Leasing System as a Promise of Sale.
This is a system for the acquisition of homes, known in practice as "housing leasing". This system authorizes the CCAF to:
- Open and maintain savings accounts for the rental of homes with a promise of sale to the workers affiliated to them and also for other people who request it, their membership not being necessary.
- Constitute and form part of a “housing fund manager”; "Of the real estate companies", owners of the houses
The Compensation Banks in other words share functions, in the same way, with banks and financial companies.
The acquisition of the houses is carried out through the system of leasing of houses with a promise of sale where the individual enters into a contract with a real estate company (which are public limited companies where the CCAF where they have powers to create and be part of) in where the latter commit to the acquisition of finished, new, used or under construction homes. In this contract, the price in promotion units is established as well as the payment term, - If the house is finished, a lease is signed with a promise of sale
- If the house is under construction, a promise of lease with a promise of sale
Payment is made through the opening of savings accounts in order to receive in them the methodical or voluntary savings made by their owners, in order to pay the rental income and accumulate sufficient funds to finance the purchase of leased homes. within the term agreed between the parties (account holder and real estate company). For this process, CCAF can establish and form part of the "Housing Fund Administrator", which is constituted as public limited companies, whose sole purpose is to administration of an estate that is constituted with the available funds from the resources of the savings accounts called "Housing Fund" for the rental of homes with a promise of sale,The Fund must sign an administration contract with this company in relation to the resources remaining in the savings accounts once the discounts have been made for the commissions of the real estate company and the CCAF. The types of savings will now be addressed:
- methodical; This is held between the interested party and the CCAF, bank or financial company chosen by him, and the real estate company. By this contract, the person is obliged to make periodic contributions for the equivalent of a percentage of the purchase price of the home, expressed in UF. The CCAFs have profits through a remuneration established on the basis of charge commissions of the account holders. savings, which are deducted from the accumulated balances in these.
- Volunteer, in this contract it is not necessary that the interested parties have signed the lease of the house with a promise of sale, therefore it will be held between the natural person and the CCAF, bank or financial company that he chooses, not being obliged to make periodic contributions, the deposits being voluntary; but once you enter the system with the conclusion of the corresponding lease with a promise of sale, you must sign the methodical savings contract, already indicated
Financing and Patrimony of the CCAF
Income
The Compensation Funds receive the following resources, commissions, readjustments and interests of the capital given in loans, investment income, fines, criminal interests, proceeds of sale, goods and services, donations, inheritances, legacies and other resources established by law. These resources constitute a fund, called by law as the "Social Fund". The resources of the social fund are used to finance the regimes of social credit benefits and additional benefits, acquire assets for the operation of the CCAF and to finance its administrative expenses.
Law 18,833 regulates only the commissions, which are received from the financial funds of the general benefits administered by the Compensation Funds. These general benefits are: family benefits, unemployment benefits and legal disability benefits. Family benefits are the only ones required according to the law, the rest are optional and with prior authorization from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
The amount of the commissions received by the Compensation Funds for the administration of general benefits will be calculated by the Superintendency of Social Security for each of them in relation to each type of benefit (family allowance, unemployment benefit, legal disability subsidy) considering the following factors: number of benefits paid, number of affiliated workers and the average number of workers in affiliated companies. In this calculation, the Superintendency of Social Security must consider an incentive mechanism to control spending originated by the benefits administered by these entities.
The amount of these commissions will be set by a joint resolution of the Ministries of Labor, Finance and that of. Social Security
Social function and importance of the CCAF
CCAF social function
The social function of compensation funds is very clear and defined, since it allows employers to “compensate” or not discriminate in the hiring of married people with many children. In the absence of the described system, the employer should pay higher wages to the worker with more children, in other words, the social function of the compensation funds was to maintain a compensation fund so as not to have differences between married and single workers with more or fewer children
The success in the management of the system had an effect on an efficient administration of resources, which allowed to successfully face other social contingencies that affected the workers and that went beyond simple family compensation.
Nowadays, the compensation funds point directly to the well-being of the worker and his family, helping him to face with dignity and misfortunes and social contingencies.
Importance of Compensation Funds
The importance of savings banks lies in the point touched on above, since savings banks solve social contingencies not covered by other institutions, in short, compensation funds are the most important social assistance system given the number of people who benefit from them and the multiplicity of functions that it fulfills.
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