Argentina pension enrollments plunge 45% in first half of 2026

In the first half of 2026, the Argentine Integrated Pension System (SIPA) recorded 99,673 new retirements, a drop of 45% compared with the same period in 2025 and 53% lower than the first half of 2024. The decline follows the expiration in March 2025 of the last pension moratorium (Law 27.705), which had allowed retirees to regularize missing contribution years through a payment plan. The government under President Javier Milei chose not to renew the moratorium.

Of the new benefits, 95,478 were ordinary old‑age pensions and 4,195 were disability pensions. While 56,373 of the grants were still issued under existing moratoria, only about 43,300 were granted to people who met the 30‑year contribution requirement without any regularization scheme. High labor informal‑employment, recorded at 44.5% in the first quarter of 2026, limits many workers from completing the required contributions, leaving a growing number of older adults unable to access pensions.

Officials say the sharp fall reflects the administration’s broader fiscal tightening strategy, but it also deepens social vulnerability for seniors who now face limited options for retirement benefits.