The Military Pension Fund: US$583 million a year from general revenue

What it is

The Armed Forces Retirement and Pensions Service, known as the Caja Militar, pays military retirements and pensions. Its contribution income falls short and the gap is covered by general revenue — that is, by every other taxpayer. On 29 September 2018, at the Budget Committee session discussing reform of the military pension regime, then Labour Minister Ernesto Murro stated that "financial assistance to the Caja Militar has multiplied tenfold over the last 15 years": from about US$65 million in 2005 to some US$700 million projected for 2020, according to the Presidency. At the same session, then Economy Minister Pablo Ferreri noted that the Service covered barely 15% of its outlays from its own resources and that general revenue financed the remaining 85%, the lowest self-coverage in the whole pension system.

What is questioned

Official figures show a structural, not a passing, imbalance. According to El Observador, in 2019 the Caja Militar had income of US$216.1 million against outlays of US$666.5 million, with 27,133 active contributors and an active-to-retiree ratio of 0.53: one active member for every two retirees. The deficit grew from US$362 million in 2015 to US$450.5 million. Annual assistance kept rising: US$374 million in 2021, US$452 million in 2022 — a figure la diaria attributed to the 2022 budget year, equal to $19.374 billion pesos — US$546 million in 2023, US$550 million in 2024 and US$583.6 million in 2025, according to Ámbito. In 2021 El Observador also noted that the Caja Militar's projections were not included in the draft of the general pension reform, which the PIT-CNT union federation objected to.

Why it matters to you

Every peso general revenue puts into the Caja Militar is a peso that does not go to health, education or housing. The 2025 assistance — US$583.6 million — is permanent annual spending decided outside any tender and with no service in return.

Where it stands