“I’m a monotributista, how much will I retire?” A few days ago, another question was added to this recurring question, aiming to know “what will happen to my contributions”, in light of the stories denied by President Javier Miley that the abolition of the simplified tax system created in 1998 was under analysis. In that first moment, it was the idea That the scheme was a “bridge” Those who were informally self-employed pass through it to register after a period in the general tax system.
The first question posed by the latter, and the one that many Social Security professionals remember today: When did it appear, The scheme is not so thought out that people will remain there throughout their active lives. Eventually, they will complete the 30-year contribution requirement for retirement.
The second question, which includes the answer to the question at the beginning: If the contributions were mainly unilateral (which is the situation that was not expected), The pension income will, in fact, be the minimum for retirement, It is granted with significant support according to the size of contributions, according to specialists.
In the current semester, the average monthly unilateral pension contribution is approx $15,400, It can also be estimated based on official data. It is less than a tenth of the average personal contribution – not including the employer contribution – made by employees in September (for a better pension, but not comparatively better than a unilateral pension). In amounts ranging From $13,663.17 to $118,346.41 -Depending on the category-, this average number is explained by the fact that The vast majority of them are at the lowest levels From the table.
According to ARCA data prepared and published by the Undersecretary of Social Security, from approx 2.43 million Followers of the general tax system, who are active and obligated to contribute to retirement, 58% of them are in category A (They contribute $13,663.17 and earn $8.99 per year, averaging $750,000 per month.) Meanwhile, seven in ten fall into A and B (contributing up to $15,029.49). If you add the people in categories A, B, and C (contributing up to $16,532.44), you get eight out of ten unilateral contributors. If (d) and (e) are added to these, this is concluded Nine out of ten pay a pension of up to $20,004.25; With a sales volume of $26.98 million annually (an average of $2.25 million per month).
Outside the general table, in the system of promoted workers there are 226,837 single earners who must make contributions, but in smaller amounts (statistics also show that those who pay every month are much less); In the social bloc of which the total number of exemptions is 435,244, In other private sectors, approximately 67,000.
At the end of the 1990s, the contribution amounted to $33 – the same rate for all single contributors to the general scheme – It was equivalent to 22% of the minimum wage recalls retirement lawyer Anna Britos. He confirms that this income was increasing in times of inflation, while the contribution It remained at $35 for several years. The relationship between the variables deteriorated.
The current average contribution is equivalent to less than 4% of your base retirement income, consisting of minimum assets plus a $70,000 bonus. So, 26 unilateral earners are needed in order for, together with their superannuation contributions, the basic benefit to be paid. It is true that 70% of the tax component of the system goes to ANAS, but the collection is not large.
According to Britos, the contribution in the lowest category is equivalent to 4.1% of the minimum salary (without considering the bonus), while at the same time At the highest level, this percentage is 35.5%. Without any difference in expected retirement. Since the changes in 2024, some single earners now contribute more than the self-employed: in both cases, future benefits trickle down to the lowest levels of the system.
“The idea was to put… Extra incentive “To formalization,” says economist Oscar Citrangolo, researcher at the Interdisciplinary Institute of Political Economy of the UBA and Conicet, referring to the merging of pension contributions and social work. He adds: “But this incentive was very large and had no time limits, so limit it Strong pressure to stay in the middle of the “bridge” Towards formalization. It determines the growth of this category of workers entitled to salaries The increasing unsustainability of the pension system; Moreover, as if the financial problem was not enough, The assets are far from satisfactory For the beneficiaries.”
In the monotributistas group with contributions there now 51% more registered than 12 years ago, According to data as of August 2013 and this year from Argentina’s Integrated Pension System (SIPA). In the world of private sector employees, The expansion in the same period was almost zero: 1.7%. In this last group contributions and contributions accumulate More solid resources to pay pensions, Which is financed from this source of income, but also to a large extent by a portion of collection general taxes, Such as value added tax or those that impose taxes on bank loans and debts.
“The single tax system is highly supported in terms of pensions,” the economist analyzes sergio Rutschweiler, Social Security specialist and professor at the General Sarmiento National University.
Add one aspect to take into consideration, which is… Another key to the gap between the simplified system and the general system for the self-employed: The right to collect the family allowances included in the tribute that is made there “Net beneficiaries” of the system For example, in category A they pay $37,085.74 per month Between the tax component and contributions, while For every child under 18, $59,851 is received this month. (The number is updated monthly).
From the point of view of the right to future income, rafael roffman, “This is already the case,” notes the economist and principal researcher at Cippec. Very few of those, mostly unilateral contributors, will retire with the current rules“, because “the consistency of contributions is low.”
Far from reality interruption in contributions, The truth is that since the birth of Monotax in 1998, the system has required 30 years of contributions, There are no “pure” retirees from the regime. In recent years, the majority of retirees have turned to… endowment, Due to the lack of contributions, the combination of the moratorium and self-employed contributions leads to the collection of the minimum salary.
How to improve the system? “If a solution is sought to provide pension coverage, it must be defined within the framework of pension reform that includes… A social protection floor financed from public revenue resources -Sitrangulus says-; In this context, monotribute can be a solution to a problem certain cases, Where workers can remain “official” for a certain period, or where this is justified by the type of contract. “If we want to increase jobs, it takes a growing economy and regulatory changes that go beyond a single tax.”
The economist says a key aspect is “incorporating changes that… Reducing incentives to remain in the monolithic system, Especially with regard to value added tax.”
“One has to do it Improve transformation “Between the monolithic system and the general system, there are fewer jumps,” says Rutschweiler, who adds: Abolishing the system is “not a good option.” Regarding retirement matters, he says: “We have to think about what The contribution becomes more reasonable with what will be received, Both in this group and in the employee group, to avoid cross-subsidies and inequality.
On the way to exclusion, The current government has significantly expanded the margin to be in the system in 2024, By promoting a reform that raised the maximum billings from $12 million or $17 million (depending on activity) to $68 million (the same for all areas), a figure that was later updated and now stands at $94.8 million.
“It is clear that they should be improved, but not removed,” says Britos, who stresses that many changes need to be made. They cover monotax and the general system.
For Roffman, the solution to the problems would involve… The adequacy of the conditions for the planned transition to the public system, It is “extremely expensive in the context of low productivity and no growth.” One key, he says, is moving toward a more just public system. And without “current incentives to avoid growing too much.”
In these incentives there are issues related to cost and not only economicBut also bureaucracywhich is the side where there is a great mission to be done.
About The Author
