Eugenio Semino, advocate for the elderly, criticized on Canal E the labor reform's impact on Argentina's pension funding. He warned that measures like the Labor Assistance Fund could worsen retirees' crisis in a system weakened by informal employment. He emphasized the urgent need to inject funds for basic needs.
Eugenio Semino, advocate for the elderly, examined in a Canal E interview the labor reform's effect on Argentina's pension system. He explained that Social Security funding comes 50% from labor contributions and 50% from fiscal resources, in a pay-as-you-go assisted scheme. However, he highlighted a structural issue: nearly 50% of workers are unregistered, weakening the pension framework.
A key concern is the creation of the Labor Assistance Fund (FAL), funded by 1% of large companies' contributions and 2.5% from SMEs to cover indemnities. Semino questioned claims it would boost registered employment, noting that similar 1990s measures in Argentina, like employer contribution cuts, failed to do so. He argued companies hire based on demand, unlikely with stagnant consumption.
He also criticized the fund's oversight by the National Securities Commission, likening it to the 2008 Sustainability and Guarantee Fund, from which 'not a single peso went to retirees.' Semino said the legislative debate ignored pensions, amid an emergency for 5 million retirees and pensioners receiving 440,000 pesos plus a bonus frozen at 70,000 pesos since March 2024.
He denounced retirees' loss of quality of life and real life risks. He disclosed a lawsuit with constitutionalist Andrés Gil Domínguez against the veto blocking bonus integration into pensions, estimating it should now be 150,000 pesos adjusted. He stressed immediate funding needs for food, medicines, healthcare, and housing.
