Guido Carelli Lynch
01/15/2021 19:30
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 01/15/2021 19:30
The inflationary jump of 4 percent registered in the last month of 2020 put in check
Alberto Fernández's
promise
that pensions would exceed the price increase.
“I said that retirees were not going to lose any more against inflation and I did it;
Every retiree knows that I am not lying, "said the head of state on January 3 when
promulgating the new
pension
calculation law
in Mar del Plata. Now, after the publication of the latest INDEC figures and with the ghost of a A hot summer in inflationary matters, the Government supports the president's words and
rejects the possibility of granting a new bonus
to compensate retirees. This was confirmed to
Clarín
in one of the most important offices of the Casa Rosada.
In ANSES they repeat the same conclusion and defend the position that the minimum pensions beat inflation thanks to the three bonds for $ 13 thousand that the Executive granted.
“With the bonds, retirees were above inflation and with the new mobility law (which will begin to apply from March) a new bonus would not be logical;
but this is dynamic, more in a pandemic, "
conceded an ANSES official.
In the Executive they maintain that each of the 4.5 million retirees who receive the minimum having received in 2020 $ 10,958.6 above inflation, the equivalent of an additional 5.6%, as highlighted in an internal document to the that this newspaper had access to.
According to this report, each retiree and pensioner of the minimum pocketed $ 207,824.4 in the year.
To arrive at this calculation, they take into account the $ 13 thousand granted in 3 bonds ($ 5 thousand in December 2019; $ 5 thousand in January and $ 3 thousand in April).
The problem is that these disbursements are not included in assets and are not taken into account for future increases.
In addition, the December 2019 and January 2020 bonds were used to rebuild assets that were outdated during previous years.
"We have already come to the aid of those who receive the minimum retirement, offering an additional income of $ 10,000 total that they will receive in two installments,"
Fernández said 10 days after taking office.
According to the official perspective, retirees also had a relief in their pocket thanks to the formulary with 170 free remedies that the PAMI incorporated and that would represent a saving of $ 3,200 per retiree on average.
“We preserve their income for retirees, setting them up with a new model for the mobility of their assets and we gave them back the free remedies they require.
We comply, ”the President told his ministers via WhatsApp on December 30.
However,
there was no recomposition of assets
during the past year and the minimum pensions almost maintained the real decline from 2016 to 2019. “We have taken the measure of the 5% increase for pensions.
This gives an increase in minimum pensions of 35.3% so far this year.
In this way, 75% of pension benefits beat inflation ”, stated the Chief of Staff
Santiago Cafiero
on November 18, at the Casa Rosada, in the company of the head of ANSES
Fernanda Raverta
, when announcing the last of the
four updates by decree
.
According to INDEC, an annualized inflation of 36.1 was reached in December.
The loss could have been greater if the Government had not backed down with the idea that the increase announced in November would be on account of the one foreseen for March, with the new calculation law.
Maximum retirements, above $ 19,035, had a bigger setback: they barely received a
24 percent increase
.
In the Executive, despite the high inflation numbers that appear in the Budget (29 percent) and the ominous forecasts of the private consultants that reach 50 percent, they trust in a rebound of the economy above what the Budget (5.5 points of GDP) thanks to the rebound in the industrial sector and, in particular, the automotive sector.
In the run-up to the electoral race, Fernández froze - in agreement or at the suggestion of Cristina Kirchner - the increases in rates and prepayments.
In the Palacio de Hacienda they imagine a rise in real wages in 2021, but more because of the drop in inflation - a gradual process - than because of the parity.
