Costa Rica's CCSS to receive ¢68.9 billion from Ministry of Finance

The Costa Rican Constitutional Court (Sala IV) has ordered the Ministry of Finance to pay ¢68,986 million to the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS). The ruling follows the court's rejection of a request for a six-month extension to fulfill a sentence regarding the financing of minimum pensions for the Invalidity, Old Age, and Death (IVM) regime.

The total amount includes ¢68,374 million in principal and ¢612 million in interest. The Ministry of Finance had requested more time to resolve accounting discrepancies from 2018, but the court ruled that these discussions did not justify delaying the 2020 sentence, which declared the omission of state contributions in the 2018 National Budget unconstitutional.

The Ministry may request a mechanism to pay the debt in installments, provided it manages this alternative within five days of the notification. However, such a request does not alter the fundamental obligation to pay the debt through the Republic's extraordinary budget.