Brazilian pensioners in Argentina to be eligible for payment in pesos

Brazilian citizens who live in Argentina will be eligible to receive their pensions in Argentinian pesos as of July, with no need for third-party exchange operations. Likewise, Argentinian pensioners living in Brazil will be allowed to be paid in the Brazilian currency, the real.

The ruling, announced on Monday (May 27), was made by the National Monetary Council (“CMN”), and expands the scope of the System for Payments in Local Currency (“SML”), which now includes several types of pensions. Up to the moment, only exports and imports of goods and services, and the costs stemming from them, are covered by the system.

The decision grants permission for Brazil’s National Institute for Social Security and Argentina’s National Administration for Social Security to transfer the funds to each other before beneficiaries are paid.

According to the Central Bank, more agreements of this sort are being prepared among other Mercosur countries. A deal reached in 2006 allows the cumulative counting of work time among member countries for the payment of pensions.

CMN, Brazil’s highest agency for economic policy, is made up of the minister of Finance and that of Planning, and the president of the Central Bank.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira