How to change Afore and why?

The pension and retirement fund system in Mexico is administered by the Afores. These institutions are responsible for the management and investment of workers’ funds: in the latter case, knowing how to change Afore It is essential to choose an administrator that offers us the best performance on our retirement funds.

What is Afore?

Retirement Fund Administrators, known as Afores, are financial entities specialized in the management of individual savings accounts for the retirement of workers. These institutions, authorized by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit and regulated by the National Retirement Savings Commission (CONSAR), play a fundamental role in the financial planning of Mexicans.

The Afores operate through Investment Companies Specialized in Retirement Funds (SIEFORE) and are in charge of manage, invest and protect savings destined for retirement from the workers. According to CONSAR data, by the end of the first quarter of 2023, around 9 million workers did not know in which Afore their savings were located.

Why change Afore?

Choosing an appropriate Afore is very important, since The amount of savings that is accumulated for retirement will depend on this.. In the cases of unregistered accounts, although that money is not lost, the opportunity to generate profits is lost. There are three factors to take into account when choosing: the returns, the commissions and the services offered by each manager.

According to CONSAR, select an Afore with high returns and low commissions can improve the pension by up to 30%. Some of the best-known entities in the sector, such as InverCap, also offer savings and investment services that can help maximize benefits at the time of retirement.

Steps to change Afore

Changing your Afore is an important process that can be done online or in person. Since January 2024, AforeMóvil users can use the SAR Electronic Signature to make the transfer request, which improves the security of managing retirement savings accounts.

The CONSAR establishes that It is possible to change Afore once a year or, in that same year, a second time if the change is to an Afore with higher performance. To make the change through the AforeMóvil application, follow these steps:

Download and activate AforeMóvil. Activate the application by entering your CURP, cell phone number, email and creating a password.
Complete electronic file. Make sure you have your complete electronic file, which includes personal data and fingerprints. If you do not have it, request its preparation in your current Afore before starting the process via AforeMóvil.
Access the application. Once the App is activated, select the “Services” icon and then “Afore Change”.
Data registration and identity confirmation. The application will guide you to register the necessary data. Afterwards, you will be asked to take a photo of your face to confirm your identity.
Objective and comparative indicators. AforeMóvil features five key indicators to choose from: it shows the performance of various indicators to compare Afores and how consistent their investments, returns, fees and more are.
Afore choice and comparison. Choose the Afore of your preference. AforeMóvil will show you a detailed comparison of performance, commission and services between your current Afore and the selected one.
Acceptance. View the user’s declaration of rights and the contract of the new Afore. By accepting you will generate the request to change the Afore.