Mexico plans reform to lift average worker's pension 40%

Mexico's government plans a pension reform that should increase retirement benefits for the average worker by 40%, in part by raising employer contributions, Finance Minister Arturo Herrera said on Wednesday.

Herrera, flanked by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and senior lawmakers, told reporters at a regular government news conference that worker contributions to the pension system would not change under the plan. The reform is seen affecting some 20 million Mexicans retirees and will enable savings to be invested in higher-yielding returns, the minister said.

The goal is to move pension benefits "a lot" closer to the salaries workers earn just before they retire, added Herrera.