Due to the quarantine and the pandemic, there has been a significant leap in quality monetary payments granted by the national government to individuals and families.
Including the pension and pensions, which are reflected in previous contributions paid by the beneficiaries, the non-contributory pensions for disability and the Universal Child Allowance (AUH), among other benefits in permanent collection, in 2019 the National State 21.5 million paymentsa figure which amounted to 33.6 million in 2020, in full pandemic and during the worst part of the isolation, and stayed inside 24.4 million in 2021according to the Report of the Budget Office of the National National Congress (OPC).
In relation to GDP, these payments represented in 2019 and10.4% of GDP. In 2020 “they increased significantly, reaching 13.9% of GDP, mainly due to the measures put in place by the government to support the income of individuals or families who have been affected by the restrictions adopted as part of the pandemic. For its part, in 2021, there is a slight increase compared to 2019 (10.7%)”says the report.
The Report clarifies in relation to the amount of benefits granted, that “although the coverage of a program must be calculated on the basis of the number of beneficiaries and not the benefits, this is not possible due to unavailability of nominative bases which allow you to identify the recipient without running into double count in the event that said person is the holder of more than one benefit.
And by way of example, the Report states that “if an individual is in receipt of a pension and a pension at the same time, he would receive two benefits, this being the amount considered in this report to measure coverage, since it is the amount available in the system financial information. The same happens with those who receive the AUH and the Alimentar card.
The report shows that:
• Breaking down the total into pensions, pensions and social assistance, in 2021 expenditure in terms of GDP, retirements meant 5.5% of GDP, pensions 2.5% and social assistance (including AUH and Alimentar Card) 2.7% of GDP. Social assistance concentrates the largest number of benefits, equal to almost 16 million in 2021 against 13 million in 2019.
• In comparative terms, between 2019 and 2021 there is a decrease in spending on pensions and pensions as a percentage of GDP (-0.66 percentage points) ea increase in social assistance (+1.02% of GDP). As far as coverage is concerned, albeit with little significance, a reduction in 2021 in the benefits granted compared to 2020 is appreciated. Pensions paid through the moratorium show a greater reduction.
• In line with the dynamics of retirements, pension expenditure as a percentage of GDP decreased in 2021, compared to previous years, while the number of benefits paid remained almost stable.
• Compared to 2017, pension expenditure falls from 6.5% to 5.5% of GDP and pensions from 3% to 2.5%.
• Social aid: until 2019, the most relevant were the contributory family allowances (AAFF) and the universal social protection allowances (AUH and AUE), of a non-contributory nature, with a solidarity burden equal to 1.2% of GDP and reaching about 10 million benefits.
• In 2020, other relevant benefits were added, such as the Emergency family income (IFE), ATP and REPRO 2. These new measures consumed expenditure equal to 1.8% of GDP and provided nearly 12 million in benefits, with IFE being the largest in terms of both budget and scope .
• In 2021, spending on social assistance represented 2.7% of GDP, providing nearly 16 million benefits. The AAFF and the AUH maintained their participation in GDP and two other social benefits acquired a budget weight of similar amounts: the Carta Alimentare and the Potenciar Trabajo Program (0.5% of GDP each).
Source: Clarin
