Colombian Cesantías and Interest Calculator

Work out your severance savings and the 12% interest that is paid to you directly — the part employers most often skip.

Reference table

Monthly salary	Cesantías	12% interest owed to you	Cesantías plus interest
100,000	$300,000.00 — deposited to your fund	$36,000.00 — paid to you in January	$336,000.00
200,000	$400,000.00 — deposited to your fund	$48,000.00 — paid to you in January	$448,000.00
250,000	$450,000.00 — deposited to your fund	$54,000.00 — paid to you in January	$504,000.00
500,000	$700,000.00 — deposited to your fund	$84,000.00 — paid to you in January	$784,000.00
750,000	$950,000.00 — deposited to your fund	$114,000.00 — paid to you in January	$1,064,000.00
1,000,000	$1,200,000.00 — deposited to your fund	$144,000.00 — paid to you in January	$1,344,000.00
1,250,000	$1,450,000.00 — deposited to your fund	$174,000.00 — paid to you in January	$1,624,000.00
1,500,000	$1,700,000.00 — deposited to your fund	$204,000.00 — paid to you in January	$1,904,000.00
2,000,000	$2,200,000.00 — deposited to your fund	$264,000.00 — paid to you in January	$2,464,000.00
2,500,000	$2,700,000.00 — deposited to your fund	$324,000.00 — paid to you in January	$3,024,000.00
3,000,000	$3,000,000.00 — deposited to your fund	$360,000.00 — paid to you in January	$3,360,000.00
4,000,000	$4,000,000.00 — deposited to your fund	$480,000.00 — paid to you in January	$4,480,000.00
5,000,000	$5,000,000.00 — deposited to your fund	$600,000.00 — paid to you in January	$5,600,000.00
7,500,000	$7,500,000.00 — deposited to your fund	$900,000.00 — paid to you in January	$8,400,000.00
10,000,000	$10,000,000.00 — deposited to your fund	$1,200,000.00 — paid to you in January	$11,200,000.00

🗓️ Deadlines and Penalty

Interest paid to youBy 31 January
Cesantías depositedBy 14 February
Where the interest goesStraight to the worker
Where the cesantías goTo a licensed fund
Late deposit penaltyOne day's salary per day
Penalty capNone

What This Calculator Adds

The 12% interest is a separate payment to you, not to the fund. If your employer only deposited the cesantías, they still owe you this.
The interest is proportional to the days worked, so a partial year earns proportionally less — but it is never zero.
The transport allowance raises the base, and because the interest is a percentage of the cesantías, leaving it out costs you twice.
A late deposit costs the employer one day of salary for every day of delay, with no ceiling. That is the leverage the law gives you.

Savings the Employer Holds for You

Cesantías are one month of salary for every year worked, set aside by the employer and deposited into a fund in your name under Article 249 of the Código Sustantivo del Trabajo. They were designed as unemployment insurance in an era with no state benefit: money you could draw on between jobs. Since Law 50 of 1990 the employer no longer keeps the money on its own books but must deposit it annually into a licensed fund, which is why the 14 February deadline exists and why a late deposit carries a penalty. You can withdraw it early for three purposes only — buying or improving a home, paying for education, or being out of work — and it is separate from the prima de servicios, which is a different benefit calculated over the same base.

The 12% That Goes Straight to You

On top of the cesantías, Law 52 of 1975 requires the employer to pay you 12% annual interest on the balance held during the year, in proportion to the days worked. This money does not go to the fund. It is paid directly to you, in cash, no later than 31 January. It is the single most commonly skipped payment in Colombian payroll, because an employer that has correctly deposited the cesantías often believes the obligation is finished. On a minimum wage with the transport allowance the interest is close to two hundred thousand pesos a year — small enough to go unnoticed and large enough to be worth claiming, including retroactively for the years it was never paid.

When You Can Withdraw Them

Housing: buying, building, improving or paying off a mortgage on a home. The fund pays the seller or the bank directly, not you.
Education: your own studies, or your spouse's or children's, at a recognised institution.
Unemployment: the whole balance, once the employment relationship ends, for any reason.
Nothing else. A fund that authorises a withdrawal outside these three grounds is acting outside the law, and the money is taxable.
The interest is not held by the fund, so there is nothing to withdraw — it should already be in your hands each January.
Withdrawing early reduces the balance the next year's interest is calculated on, which is a real cost people rarely price in.

Who Is Entitled

Every employee on an ordinary contract, from the first day worked — there is no qualifying period.
Domestic workers, whose cesantías are as compulsory as anyone else's and among the least often deposited.
Fixed-term and part-time employees, in proportion to the days worked.
Not workers on a salario integral, which folds cesantías into the salary itself.
Not independent contractors on a contrato de prestación de servicios, although misclassification can be challenged before a labour judge.
Construction workers and casual labourers have their own regime with different rules on the deposit.

Worked Examples

A full year and a half year

Minimum wage, full year

Base = 1,423,500 + 200,000 allowance = 1,623,500
Cesantías = 1,623,500 × 360 ÷ 360 = 1,623,500
Interest = 1,623,500 × 360 × 12% ÷ 360 = 194,820

$1,623,500 to the fund and $194,820 to you

$3,000,000 salary, 180 days

Above two minimum wages (2,847,000), so no allowance
Cesantías = 3,000,000 × 180 ÷ 360 = 1,500,000
Interest = 1,500,000 × 180 × 12% ÷ 360 = 90,000

$1,500,000 plus $90,000 in interest

Frequently Asked Questions

How are cesantías calculated in Colombia?

Multiply the base salary by the days worked in the period and divide by 360. The base is the salary plus the transport allowance if you earn up to two minimum wages. A full year gives exactly one month of salary.

How is the 12% interest on cesantías calculated?

Multiply the cesantías by the days worked, then by 12%, and divide by 360. A full year earns the full 12% of the balance; a partial year earns proportionally less. It is paid to you directly, not to the fund.

When must my employer pay them?

The interest goes to you by 31 January and the cesantías go to a licensed fund by 14 February. They are two separate payments with two separate deadlines and two different recipients.

What happens if my employer deposits late?

Article 99 of Law 50 of 1990 sets a penalty of one day of salary for each day of delay, with no ceiling. It runs from 15 February until the deposit is actually made, and it is claimed before the labour courts.

Can I withdraw my cesantías while still employed?

Only for housing or education. Any other early withdrawal is outside the law, and it also shrinks the balance that next year's interest is calculated on.

Do cesantías count toward the transport allowance rule?

Yes. If you earn up to two minimum wages the allowance is added to the base, exactly as it is for the prima de servicios. Because the interest is a percentage of the cesantías, omitting the allowance costs you in both numbers.