Mexico government drops 50% pension cap, limits public pensions to president's salary

The Mexican federal government acknowledged a legal conflict in the constitutional reform that sought to curb "golden pensions" for public servants. The reform set two incompatible limits: the active salary of officials could not exceed President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo’s remuneration, while pensions were to be capped at half that amount. Legal counsel Luisa María Alcalde Luján concluded the provisions could not be applied together and issued an office on 9 June directing that the pension ceiling follow the continuity principle, i.e., match the full presidential salary of 134,290 pesos per month. Consequently, the previously intended 50 percent reduction is no longer effective and federal agencies may pay pensions up to that amount.

The amendment affects current and future retirees in the federal sector, overturning a key austerity measure introduced by President Sheinbaum in March. The change restores the higher pension ceiling while preserving the reform’s broader goal of fiscal restraint.