The pension conflict returned to the center of the political scene and tensions between the provincial government and the state unions escalated. After rejecting the possibility of increasing employee contributions to cover the pension fund deficit, the ruling party explained its position.
The legislator Facundo Torres (We do this for Córdoba) claimed that the Article 63 of the Tax Code does not represent an automatic increase, but rather the factorial urged the executive to move in that direction “only if necessary” to tackle a deficit he described as “completely in the red” and exacerbated by a lack of national supplies.
“The fund is exhausted. It is a forecast that has been included in all budgets, including previous ones,” assured Torres Miter Córdoba, noting that the national government “does not provide the necessary resources” to compensate for the deficit of the untransferred fund.
Córdoba: More than 15 unions demonstrate this Tuesday against the 4% increase in pension contributions
A deficit of $750 billion
Torres described a critical panorama: A red figure of $750 billion is forecast by 2026a figure that, he said, forces us to rethink the current scheme. The legislator pointed out the heterogeneity of the system: the retirement of teachers is “significantly below” other sectors, compared to sectors such as: Bankingwhere the average exceeds 4 million dollars.
- Record deficit: The pension fund expects a loss of $750 billion by 2026.
Referring to union complaints about past bad decisions – early retirements, staff replacements with mono-tributaries or increases in the minimum contribution without sufficient contributions – Torres admitted that “it is impossible to measure the historical impact of each measure” but that there “certainly were bad decisions that drove the fund into the abyss.”
A problem that Cordoba shares with the country
Torres stressed that the provincial system faces challenges “The same tensions as all pension funds in the country”exacerbated by higher life expectancy and an increasingly unfavorable ratio between assets and liabilities.
“There are adults over 70 or 75 who are running marathons. People are living longer.”. “Today there are too few assets for the enormous amount of liabilities,” he described.
Lawmakers also acknowledged the political costs the ruling party has suffered since the pandemic. “People blamed (Juan) Schiaretti for not speaking about the cuts to Cordoba pensioners while criticizing the national situation,” journalist Jorge “Petete” Martínez reminded him, to which Torres replied that “people voted differently” and supported Milei, who is pushing for pension reform at the national level.
The official legislature has presented a draft that is intended to declare a state of emergency for the pension fund against the background of national cuts
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In another part of the interview, Torres confirmed that the idea of calling a referendum to define the future of the system arose within the ruling party, but clarified this It is not a decision that has been made. “We have to see if the people of Cordoba are satisfied that 750 billion pesos that belong to everyone go only to the coffers of public servants,” he explained.
- Open discussion: The ruling party admits historical mistakes and does not rule out structural changes
As he explained, the government intends to launch a round of dialogue with unions to “listen, agree and avoid burdening the provincial economy” in a context where revenue collections have declined and participation has declined in recent months.
Discuss the future of the system
Lawmakers have announced that Córdoba needs to carry out a thorough review of the pension model. He mentioned the project of socialism for Assets are capped at $2.5 millionsimilar to the national limit that would allow resources to be redistributed to lower-income retirees. He also recalled that contradictory claims coexist: liabilities that demand return 82% mobileAssets that reject further discounts and a fund whose financing is increasingly dependent on the province’s general resources.
“At some point we have to normalize this. It’s a difficult debate but inevitable,” he concluded.
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