Kirchnerism did not pay retirees what they were entitled to.

For years, thousands of Argentine retirees were victims of a pension policy marked by bureaucracy, neglect, and lack of sensitivity. Under Kirchnerist governments, older adults who filed lawsuits against ANSES due to errors in their benefits were forced to endure a true judicial and administrative ordeal.

Even after winning their lawsuits, many had to wait years to begin receiving what was legally owed to them. In many cases, payment never arrived during their lifetimes.

Faced with that unjust and cruel reality, last year President Javier Milei signed Emergency Decree (DNU) 594/2024, which substantially modifies the payment mechanism for final pension judgments.

The measure authorizes ANSES to immediately update the monthly benefit of those retirees who have won a lawsuit against the State, without having to wait for the complex and lengthy calculation of retroactive payments, which may be paid in a second stage.

This change was key, as it expedited the enforcement of judicial rulings and prevented beneficiaries from dying while waiting for the effective recognition of their rights, as happened during the years of Kirchnerist administrations, when pension resources were often used for clientelist purposes or diverted to other political objectives.

During the Kirchnerist governments of Néstor, Cristina, and Alberto, ANSES accumulated hundreds of thousands of pension lawsuits. Many retirees had to litigate for years to demand the application of Supreme Court rulings that established how the minimum benefit should be updated.

Despite winning, beneficiaries were trapped in a web of endless procedures. Alberto Fernández's administration didn't reverse this logic either: it prioritized spending on discretionary programs over settling debts with those who worked and contributed their entire lives.

However, Milei's government took an essential step toward reparation and dignity. With the decree, it broke with a perverse tradition of the Kirchnerist past, when the State claimed to defend retirees while condemning them to oblivion. Today, for the first time in decades, judicial rulings are enforced quickly and retirees can see their efforts reflected in real time.