Finalizing My Mexican Pension

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

Next week I will leave the school payroll.  I only receive a few hours per week to keep me in the social security system and the universal medical care.  Leaving the payroll, I will now pay for that medical care with one yearly payment of 6000 pesos, or around $385 dollars a year.  By doing this, I can now work on what we refer to as Modulo 40.

Modulo 40 allows registered workers to leave the system and begin to make additional payments to their social security account.  How does that work?

First I selected an amount that I would like to receive as a monthly pension for life.  I have chosen an amount, that along with my U.S. social security will make for a comfortable income in the near future.  I've complied with the minimum quarters or in my case weeks required to enter the system.  I am required to pay 10,75% of my desired payment for the next 48 months or until I am 65 years of age.  19.75% of that will go into my Afores (401K equivalent) and I will be able to withdraw that money plus what I have in the account along with any other contributions I wish to make.

Next year I will apply for my U.S. social security and use some of that money to make the monthly payments on the Mexican account.  

As for work, next week I will be free to work as little or as much as I want.  My work income will not affect my Mexican pension in any way.  I could stop work altogether and just make the payments and then collect in four years and that is a possibility.  However, I will continue to work for the University of Dayton as well as the school and maybe other schools as a consultant leaving us free to travel when and where we want.

I am already filling my August/September calendar.  I have a trip to Ecuador in September and we might decide to stay for an additional week and take in the sights.  

It pays to be a registered worker here in Mexico.  The benefits are great and the maximum you can collect now from Mexican SS is 50,000 pesos a month or $2500 U.S., not bad is it?  Oh, and did I mention, I will also receive three lump sums; a payout from the school for the years I worked, a payment from an old 401K that no longer exists with interest, and a payment from Infonavit which is a housing program for all registered workers that I never took part in.