The Social Security Justice returned to the center of the scene the regime of privilege allocations by ordering that the Anses return to former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner a million-dollar pension that had been eliminated after her conviction for corruption. The decision not only reactivates the benefit, but it also provides for its payment with retroactive effect, which implies an immediate disbursement of
extraordinary amounts.By two votes to one, Chamber III of the Federal Social Security Chamber rejected an extraordinary appeal filed by Anses, after a previous ruling in February, and confirmed that the agency must pay a benefit “several times a million” to the former president, who is currently serving house arrest after being convicted in the road case. In November 2024, the last month in which he received the income, the amount was almost $12.5 million in hand. The ruling, signed by judges Sebastián Russo and Juan Fantini, also orders the refund of all payments not received since November 2024. According to estimates, this could result in a cumulative charge of between $255 and $340 million
in a single payment.
The conflict originated when, in November 2024, the Government of Javier Milei ordered the reduction of the pension benefits received by CFK, after the confirmation of her conviction by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, which considered her “criminally responsible author of the crime of fraudulent administration to the detriment of the
public administration”.Faced with that decision, the former official initiated litigation and requested a precautionary measure to temporarily recover at least one of the benefits: the widow's pension of former president Néstor Kirchner. In the first instance, Judge Karina Alonso Candis, of the Federal Social Security Court No. 1, rejected the request. However, after the appeal, the camaristas Russo and Fantini admitted it, arguing the supposed “food” nature of the income
.In their February resolution, the judges held that “it is appropriate to give precedence to the alimony nature of the right whose guardianship is sought and to the situation of lack of protection in which the plaintiff is placed”, adding that the administrative decision “deprives the plaintiff of income of a food nature”.
Subsequently, the Ministry of Human Capital, through the Anses, tried to take the case to the Supreme Court through an extraordinary appeal. However, this was rejected again by Russo and Fantini, while Judge Nora Dorado voted in dissent
, supporting the Government's position.In his vote, Dorado warned of the fiscal impact, stating that the refund “could project on the public purse” and that the decision had implications for the “uniformity of interpretation and predictability of the system.” In addition, he held that the appeal should be granted “with suspensive effect”, that is, without Anses being obliged to pay while the Court analyzed the case.
