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Social security and payroll levies in Colombia: pension, health, occupational risk, family fund, SENA and ICBF

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Changing

A Colombian employer pays 12 percent pension (the worker adds 4), 8.5 percent health (the worker adds 4), occupational risk insurance of 0.522 to 6.960 percent by risk class, and payroll levies of 4 percent to a family compensation fund, 2 percent to SENA and 3 percent to ICBF. Companies that file income tax are exempt from the employer health contribution and from SENA and ICBF for each worker earning under 10 minimum wages (COP 17,509,050 in 2026), which makes formal hiring below that level markedly cheaper. Contributions are paid monthly through the PILA form on a base of 1 to 25 minimum wages, and the pension reform that raises the solidarity surcharge takes effect on 1 April 2027.

USD figures use the TRM (tasa representativa del mercado) of COP 3,158.43 per US dollar, valid 24 to 26 October 2026, from the official TRM series published by the Superintendencia Financiera on the national open data portal (datos.gov.co). Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Pension contribution rate	16 %Decreto 1833 de 2016 art. 2.2.3.1.6, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Employer pension contribution	12 %Ley 100 de 1993 art. 20 (75 percent of 16 percent), as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Worker pension contribution	4 %Ley 100 de 1993 art. 20, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Pension solidarity surcharge applies from	4 minimum wagesLey 100 de 1993 art. 20, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Employer health contribution (waived below 10 minimum wages for income tax filers)	8.5 %Ley 100 de 1993 art. 204; Estatuto Tributario art. 114-1, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Worker health contribution	4 %Ley 100 de 1993 art. 204, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Occupational risk (ARL) initial rate, risk class I	0.522 %Decreto 1072 de 2015 art. 2.2.4.3.5, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Occupational risk (ARL) maximum rate, risk class V	8.7 %Decreto 1072 de 2015 art. 2.2.4.3.5, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum contribution base	25 minimum wagesDecreto 1833 de 2016 art. 2.2.3.1.7, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Family compensation fund levy	4 %Ley 21 de 1982 art. 12, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
SENA levy (waived below 10 minimum wages for income tax filers)	2 %Ley 21 de 1982 art. 12; Estatuto Tributario art. 114-1, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
ICBF levy (waived below 10 minimum wages for income tax filers)	3 %Ley 89 de 1988 art. 1; Estatuto Tributario art. 114-1, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Worker pay below which health, SENA and ICBF are waived for income tax filers	10 minimum wagesEstatuto Tributario art. 114-1, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Pension reform (Ley 2381 de 2024) entry into force	2027-04-01 dateLey 2381 de 2024; Sentencia C-264 de 2026, as of 2026-10-26 · pending

The rule

1. Pension contributions are 16 percent of the contribution base: 12 points paid by the employer (75 percent) and 4 by the worker (25 percent). Workers with a base of 4 minimum wages or more pay an extra 1 percent to the pension solidarity fund, plus 0.2 to 1 percent more from 16 minimum wages (0.2 from 16 to 17, 0.4 from 17 to 18, 0.6 from 18 to 19, 0.8 from 19 to 20 and 1 percent above 20).
Cost to do it: Employer 12 percent; on COP 6,000,000, COP 720,000 a month (US$227.96).Ley 100 de 1993 (as amended by Ley 797 de 2003); Decreto 1833 de 2016, Ley 100 art. 20; Decreto 1833 art. 2.2.3.1.6, 2016-11-10 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. The contribution base for pension and health is at least one minimum wage and at most 25 minimum wages, COP 43,772,625 a month in 2026.Decreto 1833 de 2016 (compiling Decreto 510 de 2003), Art. 2.2.3.1.7, 2016-11-10 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Health contributions are 12.5 percent of the base, never below the minimum wage: 8.5 percent from the employer and 4 percent from the worker.Ley 100 de 1993, as amended by Ley 1122 de 2007 art. 10, Art. 204, 2007-01-09 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Companies and other legal entities that file income tax returns are exempt from the employer health contribution and from the SENA and ICBF levies for each worker earning, individually, less than 10 minimum wages (COP 17,509,050 a month in 2026).
Cost to do it: Saves 13.5 percent of payroll (8.5 health, 2 SENA, 3 ICBF) per eligible worker; on COP 6,000,000, COP 810,000 a month (US$256.46).Estatuto Tributario, added by Ley 1819 de 2016 art. 65, Art. 114-1, 2016-12-29 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Private employers pay payroll levies (aportes parafiscales) on the monthly payroll: 4 percent to the family compensation fund (caja de compensación familiar), 2 percent to SENA and 3 percent to ICBF.
Cost to do it: Family fund 4 percent always; SENA 2 and ICBF 3 percent only for workers outside the art. 114-1 exemption.Ley 21 de 1982; Ley 89 de 1988, Ley 21 art. 7 and 12; Ley 89 art. 1, 1982-01-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Occupational risk insurance (ARL) is paid entirely by the employer at a rate set by risk class: class I 0.348 to 0.696 percent (initial 0.522), class II 0.435 to 1.653 (1.044), class III 0.783 to 4.089 (2.436), class IV 1.740 to 6.060 (4.350) and class V 3.219 to 8.700 (6.960). A company joining the system for the first time pays the initial rate of its class.
Cost to do it: Office staff (class I) on COP 6,000,000: COP 31,320 a month (US$9.92).Decreto 1072 de 2015, Art. 2.2.4.3.5, 2015-05-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. For pension and health purposes, non salary payments above 40 percent of total remuneration are included in the contribution base.Ley 1393 de 2010, Art. 30, 2010-07-12 official text · verified 2026-10-26

8. The pension reform (pillar system) keeps the 16 percent contribution and the 75 to 25 split, and raises the worker's solidarity surcharge to 1.5 percent from 4 minimum wages, 1.8 percent from 7, 2.5 percent from 11, 2.8 percent from 19 to 20 and 3 percent above 20. The Constitutional Court suspended its entry into force in June 2025 (Auto A-841 de 2025) and in Sentencia C-264 de 2026 of 25 August 2026 upheld the articles examined, which enter into force on 1 April 2027.
Example: A worker earning COP 15,000,000 (8.6 minimum wages) pays 1 percent solidarity today (COP 150,000) and 1.8 percent from April 2027 (COP 270,000). / About US$47.49 rising to US$85.49 a month.Ley 2381 de 2024, Art. 20, 2024-07-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Entry into force set for 1 April 2027 by Sentencia C-264 de 2026 (25 August 2026).

Item	Rate	Salary COP 6,000,000 (exempt)	Salary COP 20,000,000 (not exempt)	Rule
Pension	12 percent	720,000	2,400,000	Ley 100 art. 20
Health	8.5 percent (0 if exempt)	0	1,700,000	Ley 100 art. 204; ET art. 114-1
ARL class I	0.522 percent	31,320	104,400	Decreto 1072 art. 2.2.4.3.5
Family fund	4 percent	240,000	800,000	Ley 21 art. 12
SENA	2 percent (0 if exempt)	0	400,000	Ley 21 art. 12; ET art. 114-1
ICBF	3 percent (0 if exempt)	0	600,000	Ley 89 art. 1; ET art. 114-1
Total COP		991,320	6,004,400
Total USD		313.86	1,901.07
Share of salary		16.52 percent	30.02 percent

Monthly employer contributions for an income tax filing company, office worker (ARL class I), 2026. USD at COP 3,158.43.

Worked example

An income tax filing SAS pays an engineer COP 6,000,000 and a country manager COP 20,000,000 a month. The engineer is under 10 minimum wages, so the employer pays only pension, ARL and the family fund: COP 991,320 (about US$313.86, 16.5 percent of salary). The manager is above 10 minimum wages, so health, SENA and ICBF apply too: COP 6,004,400 (about US$1,901.07, 30.0 percent).
The manager also pays 4 percent pension, 4 percent health and a 1 percent solidarity surcharge (a base of 11.4 minimum wages is under the 16 minimum wage band): withholdings of COP 1,800,000 (about US$569.90) a month before income tax. From 1 April 2027 the solidarity surcharge at 11.4 minimum wages becomes 2.5 percent under Ley 2381 art. 20.

Step by step

1. Register the company with an ARL and a family compensation fund before the first hire; classify each job by risk class.
2. Affiliate each worker to an EPS (health) and a pension fund of the worker's choice from the first day.
3. Pay all contributions monthly through the PILA integrated contribution form.
4. Apply the art. 114-1 exemption worker by worker each month (a raise above 10 minimum wages switches health, SENA and ICBF back on).
5. Prepare payroll for the 1 April 2027 solidarity surcharge change under Ley 2381 de 2024.

Common traps

Applying the exemption to non filers. Only companies and legal entities that file income tax returns qualify (ET art. 114-1).
Ignoring the 40 percent rule. Large non salary packages raise the pension and health base (Ley 1393 art. 30); the UGPP audits PILA filings.
Wrong risk class. Underclassifying a job lowers ARL contributions but the insurer can reclassify; the initial rate applies to new companies.
Paying the worker's share. The worker's 4 percent pension, 4 percent health and any pension solidarity surcharge are withheld from the worker's pay, not paid on top by the employer.

Sources

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