Argentina

The development of social security programmes in Argentina began in the early twentieth century. Although the programmes were fragmented, stratified and disorganized at first, they have reached a major expansion and consolidation.

Currently, social protection in Argentina has a large number of policies and programmes that include both basic social protection as well as other components that provide a higher level of protection, such as compulsory contributory insurance. In the first group, it may be cited as an example the family allowance benefits and the retirement or pension benefits, which have reached even those families and/or workers in the informal economy.

The nationalization of the welfare system in 2008, from the Integrated System of Retirements and Pensions (Sistema Integrado de Jubilaciones y Pensiones - SIJP) to the Argentine Integrated Welfare System (Sistema Integrado Previsional Argentino - SIPA), improved the financing of social security by taking control of the Pension Fund and transforming it into the Guarantee Fund for Sustainability (approximately 10% of GDP) and by adding the monthly flow of contributions from individual retirement accounts managed until then by the Pension Fund Administrators. This allowed changes in the social security system to increase the coverage on various dimensions and the extension thereof.

Coverage data from transfer programmes show encouraging indicators: primary school enrollment is almost universal, 86% of boys, girls and adolescents are covered by family allowance benefits; 90% of adults over 65 years receive a retirement benefit or pension; and at least 600,000 people of working age are covered by programmes to combat unemployment, problems related to access to the labour market and the risk of losing their jobs.

The challenge of social protection in Argentina is to obtain systems that provide effective coverage to vulnerable populations, preventing welfare losses of those populations and reducing the risk of falling into poverty, regardless of employment status of workers.

The current political agenda, that encompasses issues such as coverage gaps, access and program overlap, inefficiency in the provision of basic services, suggests that measures should be taken for consolidating a Social Protection Floor.

Total population : 41.1 million

(UN Population Division | World Population Prospects, 2012)

GDP per capita (PPP US $) : 17674

(World Bank | WDI, 2011)

GDP growth (in %) : 8.9

(World Bank | WDI, 2011)

Human Development Index (HDI) : 0.797 [Rank: 45]

(UNDP | Human Development Indicators, 2011)

Total expenditures on health as % of GDP : 8.1

(WHO | WHO Statistical System, 2010)

Public expenditure on health as % of GDP : 4.4

(WHO | WHO Statistical System, 2010)

Govt. expenditure on health as % of total govt. Expenditure : 14.7

(WHO | WHO Statistical System, 2010)

Health expenditure not financed out of pocket by private households (% total health expenditure) : 70.1

(WHO | WHO Statistical System, 2010)

Public social security expenditure (including health) as % of PIB : 21.1

(ECLAC, 2009)

Share of population above the statutory retirement age benefiting from an old-age pension : 83

(ILO Social security inquiry, 2008)

Share of economically active population contributing to a pension scheme : 39.1

(ILO Social security inquiry, 2009)

Share of unemployed receiving regular periodic unemployment benefits : 5.7

(ILO Social security inquiry, 2010) Map

Social security schemes and programs by branch

Main page
Country background
Health
Pensions: Old age, disability and survivors [SSA/ISSA]
Work injury [SSA/ISSA]
Sickness and Maternity [SSA/ISSA]
Family and child benefits [SSA/ISSA]
Unemployment [SSA/ISSA]

See all
RESOURCES

Progress in consolidating social protection in Argentina

ILO Buenos Aires, 2012

Social protection floor initiative. SPF country brief Argentina

ILO, 2010

La cobertura de los sistemas previsionales en Am�rica Latina: conceptos e indicadores

Rofman R.; Oliveri, M.L., 2011

See all
NEWS & Calendar

Presentaci�n de Libro sobre Seguridad Social en Argentina

La Universidad de Kassel difunde la Relator�a del Simposio �De la desigualdad a la justicia social? Las pol�ticas socio-laborales de Am�rica Latina en la disyuntiva, realizado en Buenos Aires el 28 y 29 de septiembre de 2011.