PreviRed payments increase 33% in October

Payments by Chilean employers through the country's social security portal PreviRed rose to US$60mn in October up 33% from US$45mn in September, PreviRed said in a statement. Payments for October covered 735,000 employees nationwide. Accumulated payments made through the web site in the first ten months of this year now reach US$300mn, and PreviRed says payments for 2003 are expected to outpace 2002 by more than three times. Seven of Chile's private pension fund managers, or AFPs, own PreviRed, which allows customers to pay pension, health, social security, compensation bills and a host of other social security commitments.