The pandemic has highlighted significant gaps in social protection, in particularly among informal workers. With around 60% of workers in informal jobs, many of those most in need of social protection are left behind. The government has attempted to fill this gap with non-contributory benefits, but coverage and benefit levels are low. By contrast, formal workers have access to a full range of social protection benefits, involving large-scale public subsidies to the better-off. Labour informality and social protection coverage are interlinked, as high social contributions are one of the main barriers to formal job creation. Ensuring some basic social protection coverage for all, while simultaneously reducing the cost of formal employment, would reduce labour informality, raise productivity, and decrease poverty and inequality, all of which are long-standing challenges in Colombia.