# Costa Rica pension reform initiatives

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/costa-rica-pension-reform-initiatives
> Updated: 2026-07-28T21:14:14.000Z. Sources: 6. Developments: 2.

In mid‑July, Deputy Marta Esquivel publicly accused the national audit office of shielding officials linked to the controversial “Caso Barrenador” report and launched a legislative proposal to move administration of non‑contributory pension programs from the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. She argued that the shift would reduce a backlog of tens of thousands of pending applications and lessen strain on the health‑insurance system.

Two weeks later, Esquivel expanded her reform agenda to the judiciary. She filed a request with the Supreme Court demanding full documentation of the judicial power’s trust fund, seeking verification that its expenditures were covered by the national budget. Simultaneously, she introduced a bill to make contributions to the Judicial Pension Fund voluntary, allowing judges and other judicial workers to transfer their contributions to the CCSS’s Invalidez, Vejez y Muerte (IVM) regime. The measure targets a projected shortfall that would leave the fund able to meet only about 61 % of its obligations.

Together, the actions trace a progression from a broad overhaul of public pension administration toward targeted reforms aimed at improving transparency and financial sustainability within the judicial pension system.

## Claims

- Deputy Marta Esquivel submitted a request to the Costa Rican Supreme Court for all documents related to the judicial power's trust fund, including contracts and financial details. (single source)
- The request asks whether the Legislative Assembly authorized the Additional Investment Plan when the judiciary budget exceeded the constitutional 6 % limit in the past 15 years. (single source)
- Marta Esquivel proposed a bill to make contributions to the Judicial Pension Fund voluntary and allow workers to transfer to the IVM regime of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social. (single source)
- The proposed legislation would amend article 239 of the Organic Law of the Judicial Power to permit voluntary transfers to the IVM scheme. (single source)
- The judicial pension fund is projected to be able to cover only 61.05 % of its obligations, leaving a shortfall of 810.621 million colones. (single source)
- The reform would apply to active judicial personnel and new hires, allowing a one‑time choice between the judicial fund and IVM, with default to IVM if no choice is made. (single source)
- The request also seeks detailed reports on all projects and expenditures executed via the judicial trust fund, checking if they were backed by the national budget. (single source)

## Timeline

### 2026-07-28: Costa Rica Deputy Marta Esquivel Pushes Judicial Pension Reform and Seeks Trust Fund Transparency

Deputy Marta Esquivel requests judicial trust‑fund documents and proposes a bill to make pension contributions voluntary, letting workers move to the CCSS IVM scheme to address a projected 61% funding gap.

4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/costa-rica-deputy-marta-esquivel-pushes-judicial-pension-reform-and-seeks-trust-fund-transparency

### 2026-07-14: Costa Rica lawmaker Marta Esquivel accuses audit office and seeks pension‑system overhaul

Costa Rica deputy Marta Esquivel accused the audit office of covering up the “Caso Barrenador” scandal and proposed moving non‑contributory pensions from the CCSS to the Ministry of Labour.

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/costa-rica-lawmaker-marta-esquivel-accuses-audit-office-and-seeks-pensionsystem-overhaul

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Cite as: Costa Rica pension reform initiatives. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/costa-rica-pension-reform-initiatives