As of today, 800,000 people will be able to receive a pension thanks to a new law enacted by the government via the Official Bulletin.

The law — often referred to as a “pension moratorium” — implements a new scheme by which people of retirement age who do not have the required 30 years of contributions can purchase or “buy back” years in order to retire. 

It also benefits those who are within ten years of retirement age, enabling them to pay contributions in advance — that includes women between the ages of 50 and 59 and men between the ages of 55 and 64. 

Those who are already of retirement age and wish to buy back their retirement are set to have priority.

“The regulations haven’t been defined yet since it was enacted a few hours ago, but we can start handling the and receiving paperwork,” said Fernanda Raverta, head of the National Social Security Administration (ANSES), at a press conference in Santa Fe province. 

The pension buyback scheme, known as the “Plan de Pago de Deuda Previsional” in Spanish, was approved by the House of Deputies in Congress on February 28th with 134 votes in favor and 107 against. It was previously approved by the Senate in June 2022.

According to ANSES, only one in 10 women and three in 10 men reach retirement age with 30 years of contributions. On average, registered workers only have between 14 and 17.

“It’s not about gifting retirements, it’s giving citizens the opportunity to pay off their contributions and pensions debt on the basis of a law,” Raverta said.

The buyback pensions scheme was highlighted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week as a cause for concern in the context of their fourth review of Argentina’s economic program. 

Alongside negotiations for reevaluating the country’s targets, the IMF staff report referred to the approval of the new law as “unforeseen,” saying that “early and resolute actions will be taken to sustainably address the fiscal costs [and] secure fiscal targets for this year and beyond.”

This provoked national political outrage, with the Kirchnerite political group La Cámpora publishing a scathing public letter directed at the organization. 

“It’d be great if Kristalina Georgieva [head of the IMF] could explain to us their definition of ‘unforeseen’, because, in our humble opinion, it has to do with timing.”