The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) has capped, as of Thursday, October 22, 2026, the salary at which new people can enroll in Modalidad 40: contributions may only be made up to the last base salary registered when leaving the mandatory regime, plus one Unit of Measurement and Update (UMA). The change was published Wednesday in the Official Gazette of the Federation, according to Aristegui Noticias, and the same day the Senate announced it would review it.

The agreement was approved by the IMSS Technical Council in an extraordinary session on October 10. Those already enrolled keep their conditions until the contracted period ends and retain recognition of the weeks and salaries paid, El Universal reported. The institute said the measure is temporary and that it will study the financial effect of the scheme over six months.

For thousands of Mexican workers, Modalidad 40 is a planning tool: it allows them to keep contributing on their own before retiring and to raise the amount of their pension. That is why the adjustment touches a financial decision that many families make years before retirement.

In the Senate, PRI legislator Claudia Anaya Mota questioned that the Technical Council is suspending articles of the Social Security Law through an agreement. The president of the Board of Directors, Higinio Martínez, said he would refer the matter to the Political Coordination Board for immediate review, Aristegui Noticias reported.

Separately, the IMSS and the National Union of Social Security Workers agreed on an overall salary increase of 8%, split between base salary and rent assistance, according to the institute's general director, Zoé Robledo. A dissident sector of the union rejected the increase and announced a mega-march.

The institute has up to six months to deliver the analysis and then another period to present a proposal for regulatory modification to the Technical Council, which is also preparing for enrollments to be made only through digital channels. The review by the Political Coordination Board will mark the next chapter.

This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.