If we take into account the loss that pensioners had compared to inflation in the months of December and January and which the 27% increase in March did not cover, the government should give them a 25% increase in April and adding February inflation (13.2%), i.e an increase of 41.5%, including the bonus.
If this were to happen, pensions would be adjusted for inflation with a delay of two months – as foreseen in the invoices –those who would earn the minimum, including the bonus, would close the year a real annual income practically equal to that of 2023. And the pensioner without a bonus would end the year with a loss of 16% compared to 2023. In other words, many thousands of retirees would find themselves with a loss of purchasing power for the seventh consecutive year.
The calculation is by the IARAF (Argentine Institute of Fiscal Analysis), which assumes that the bonds would be reached by these increases. For this reason, the Report adds that if the Government granted a 10% increase in April, as expected by Guillermo Francos, in addition to February inflation, i.e. an increase of 24.5%, Retirees with the minimum who receive a bonus will end the year with a 10% loss in purchasing power compared to 2023.
“In the case of a pensioner who does not receive the bonus, the annual loss will be 24%. Clearly, an extra 10% does not compensate for the loss of the first 3 months of the yearthe relative dynamics of pensioners who do not collect bonuses is much worse,” the report claims.
With the 20.6% increase in January inflation that some opposition projects want to add plus the February inflation (13.2%), the April increase would be 36.5%, assuming that they are cumulative. Otherwise the increase would be 33.8%.
These numbers are fundamental because The various projects presented to Congress do not compensate for the loss of retirement purchases and pensions of recent months, worsening the worsening of recent years.
Meanwhile, for the Congressional Budget Office (OPC), salaries not reached by bonuses had “a real reduction of 43% on an annual basis in the first two months of 2024, while the loss of minimum wages with bonuses included was 27%, 0.8% year-on-year.”
With the 27.18% increase in March and the bonus of up to 70 thousand dollars, retirements and pensions with minimum wage They are charging a total of $204,445 gross. The total comes to $134,445 plus $70,000.
Then in April 10% or 20.6% would be applied, depending on the different initiatives, plus the February CPI, but It is not expressly made clear whether these increases will apply to $134,445 or $204,445 before tax.
Retirees and retirees with salaries above $204,445 will receive the 27.18% increase before the end of the month and will not receive any bonuses.
Given the sharp decline in retirements with or without bonuses in recent years, according to the Paz Zurita study, “IPC mobility does not recover what has been lost – which is lost forever unless the pensioner makes a legal claim. And until salaries are updated by the CPI, the flattening of pensions will continue and new pensioners will continue to lose purchasing power compared to their initial salary”.
This loss of starting salary is due to the fact that upon retirement the starting salary is determined based on the average salary of the last 120 updated months. And this update is applied based on a coefficient calculated based on the salary evolution of registered workers (RIPTE – who are retreating – lagging behind inflation.
Source: Clarin
