With the release of salary data (RIPTE) starting in December, and although other variables are yet to be known, starting next month retirementspensions and other social benefits they would receive a raise for March, April and May about 30%. We may know the official data this Friday.
This increase will be much lower than inflation. January CPI is estimated to have been 21.9%, in February it will be 18% and the same in March. AS, the cumulative increase in the first quarter would be 70%. Subtracting the nearly 30% increase, salaries and other social benefits would be affected in March a drop of 23%.with the aggravating circumstance that the lowest salaries have stopped receiving VAT refunds up to $18,800 per month.
That loss of purchasing power it would intensify in April and May because pensions and other benefits would remain unchanged (the next one is in June) and prices would continue to rise in those two months. Then towards May The loss of purchasing power would be around 35%, in just 5 months.
The reduction of pension and social security spending is included in the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The objective is to reduce it by another 0.4 points of GDP.
The Congressional Budget Office (CPO) recognizes that the pension deficit has been reduced in recent years at the expense of this enormous decline in the purchasing power of retirees. And it is clear that the same would happen if the objective was to reduce it by another 0.4% of GDP.
Doubts about bonuses for pensioners in March, April and May
A key issue that the Government needs to resolve is what treatment the income boost or bonus will have for the lower net worth. In December, January and February remained unchanged at $55,000 per month, despite the inflationary peak. Will the bonus be maintained with a mobility-like increase of 30%?
In 2023, with the inflationary leap in December, pensioners and pensioners had a loss of between 14.2% – in the case of those who received the bonus for minimum salaries – and 32.3% for average salaries and more tall.
This way, Between September 2017 and December 2023 the average deterioration in pensions was 40%, with minimum wages falling by 30% and average and upper wages by 55%. If you add the loss of the first quarter of 2024, on average the purchasing power was reduced by half.
As a result, to restore the purchasing power of September 2017, on average Pensions should increase by 100%.
Source: Clarin
