Costa Rica's 7 ex-presidents collected W10.2b in pensions — now the perks are ending

Seven former presidents of Costa Rica collected a combined 5.47 billion colones (about 17 billion won) in pensions through July this year, according to official figures.

President Laura Fernandez announced Monday in a nationally televised address that she had submitted legislation to the National Assembly that would strip all former presidents of their pension benefits with immediate effect.

The bill contains no income-based exemptions or grace periods — the pension would be revoked for all former presidents the moment the law takes effect.

The legislation also includes provisions under which immediate predecessor Rodrigo Chaves and Fernandez herself would forfeit the pension benefits they would otherwise receive upon leaving office. There is no requirement to repay amounts already disbursed.

"I say clearly to all former presidents: there will be no more privileged pensions — not Chaves's pension, not the one I would have received," Fernandez said.

Each former president currently receives about 4 million colones (12.6 million won) per month. Former President Rafael Angel Calderon, who served from 1990 to 1994, has accumulated the most — 972 million colones (3.06 billion won) — followed by former President Jose Maria Figueres at 936 million colones (2.95 billion won) and former President Miguel Angel Rodriguez at 906 million colones (2.83 billion won).

Fernandez said Figueres began drawing his pension at 43 and Calderon at 45. She also noted that some former presidents collect three separate pensions simultaneously under different designations, and that none of them ever contributed to the pension fund.

"Thousands of Costa Rican families are waiting for a subsistence pension of less than 100,000 colones a month," Fernandez said, criticizing the arrangement as one in which ordinary citizens had effectively handed nearly 5.5 billion colones to former presidents who made no contributions and whose survival does not depend on the money.

Under current law, former presidents receive a lifetime pension equivalent to a National Assembly member's salary, and their surviving family members may receive up to 75 percent of that amount.

Fernandez will hold a press conference Wednesday to announce detailed implementation plans for the legislation.