The Governor of the Province of Santa Fe, Maximiliano Pullaro, the National Minister for Human Capital, Sandra Pettovello, and the Executive Director of the National Social Security Administration (Anses), Guillermo Arancibia, signed an agreement on Tuesday for 120 billion pesos, to be paid over twelve months. The agreement will come into effect from May and will be used to finance part of the provincial pension fund’s deficit.
The event took place in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and was also attended by the national deputy, Gisela Scaglia, and the Secretary for Social Security of Santa Fe, Jorge Boasso.
The signed agreement aims to restore the monthly flow of funds unilaterally interrupted by the national government following one of the articles of Decree 280 signed by President Javier Milei at the end of March 2024. Thus, the transfer will be made as an advance on the capital corresponding to and resulting from the audit for the 2026 financial year, whilst, in relation to the financial years between 2020 and 2025, the results will be those arising from simulation processes and audits carried out with the full cooperation of Anses and the Government of Santa Fe.
A victory for Santa Fe
“Today was a victory for all the people of Santa Fe,” said Governor Maximiliano Pullaro after the signing. On his social media accounts, the governor noted that “we have signed an agreement to ensure that the funds owed to the people of Santa Fe are recognised and begin to be paid out. “Payments will begin in instalments for the funds that the national government is legally required to contribute to the province for the Pension Fund,” he explained.
Pullaro also added that “we welcome the fact that agreements are being honoured and that the resources of the people of Santa Fe are being returned to their rightful owners, strengthening our pension system and defending what belongs to Santa Fe.”
Significance
In this context, Scaglia explained that “this agreement restores the flow of funds, but the province of Santa Fe is not dropping the legal case regarding the outstanding debt, which relates to the years during which the national government failed to make the transfers. Governor Pullaro and former governors Omar Perotti and Antonio Bonfatti pursued the matter in the Supreme Court because it is a matter of great importance to the people of Santa Fe. Today, what we are restoring is the transfer of funds, which relates to the cash flow. Furthermore, an audit will be carried out covering the years during which transfers ceased, so that both parties can determine the actual amount owed and how it is to be paid.”
“Today marks the start of a process of dialogue through joint efforts, which previously took place solely through the courts. The suspension of deadlines means we can sit down at the negotiating table to audit our Fund, put the actual figures for the Province of Santa Fe on the table, and then agree on how that debt is to be paid,” concluded the national MP.
A good start
Meanwhile, Boasso stated that “through the agreement we are signing today, the monthly transfers that were suspended during the final year of former President Alberto Fernández’s administration are being resumed. These transfers are linked to a law that transfers funds to the Santa Fe Pension Fund to cover the structural deficit resulting from the failure to transfer its pension system to Anses, alongside 12 other provinces. It is the start of a positive step.”
Furthermore, “Santa Fe is continuing with legal proceedings regarding the debt that has been accumulating due to the failure to make the monthly transfers in a timely and proper manner,” concluded the Secretary for Social Security.
