Argentina
Employee benefits in Argentina are bolstered through a comprehensive social security system covering a wide variety of benefits such as retirement, death in service, long-term disability, short-term sickness, medical, workers’ compensation insurance, and maternity and paternity benefits. Furthermore, in Argentina, employers offer additional benefits to their employees through a defined contribution pension system, group health, life insurance plans, and accident insurance plans.
Country Insight
Mandatory employee benefits in Argentina (government and employer)
The Social Security System is particularly relevant as it is one of the main instruments of state social policy. Its share of the budget reflects its importance, as the corresponding item has been one of the main ones within the country’s public social expenditures (between 34% and 38% since 2003), together with education and health.
In Argentina, there is a Unified Social Security System (SUSS), which has different components:
- The pension or retirement system (currently the Integrated Retirement System, SUSS)
- The Integrated Retirement and Pension System or SIJP), which is the main component
- A subsystem of subsidies and family allowances
- The unemployment benefits component
Employers must provide the following employee benefits in Argentina:
- Workers’ Compensation – A compulsory insurance, which Laws 24.557 and 26.773 cover, and must be purchased by employers. All employees are covered for work-related accidents through coverage with an insurance company that includes “in-itinere” (on the way) insurance.
- Mandatory Group Life – Insurance cover established by Presidential Decree 1.567/74 covers all legally registered employees. It covers death by any cause.
- Childcare rooms – All organizations employing 100 or more employees must provide childcare spaces during the working day for children between 45 days and 3 years of age who are in the worker’s care.
Supplementary employee benefits in Argentina
Employers offer additional benefits to their employees through a defined contribution pension system, group health insurance plans, group life insurance plans, and a group personal accident insurance plan. The defined contribution pension plans are not too prevalent in Argentina because of the robust presence of the public pension system that we describe above.
- Private Health Insurance – 10.000 to 12.000 ARS monthly for employee-only cover (the age, extent of cover, and medical history can also impact the cost)
- Supplementary group life – These policies cover employees against death and/or permanent disabilities caused by accidents or illness. Additional coverage extensions, such as organ transplants and others, are also available on the market.
- Pension plans – Although not widespread, these plans are designed to complement state-administered retirement programs (which are usually insufficient to maintain decent living standards).