Social Security's reform impact in Argentina (1996-2010)

In the beginning of the Twenty-first Century, Argentina suffered a profound economic, political and social crisis known as the “2001 Crisis”. The previous decade was determined by the implementation of adjustment policies centered in the privatization of the social security system and the reform of labour conditions, among others, which created a progressive growth in unemployment, labour precariousness and a decrease of the pension system’s coverage. With an unemployment rate of 21.5% and more than half the population under the poverty line, the social integration paradigm based in ascending social mobility, due to stable labour access and social security, was replaced by another one based on social segmentation, exclusion and inequality.
Policies intended to improve employment levels, increase formal labour conditions and favor access to social security for vulnerable and older workers, through early retirement and payment plans (moratoriums) where implemented in order to overcome this crisis, thus allowing a revert in the exclusion process and the beggining of inclusion. However, levels of inequality and social segmentation remain to be overcome.
The goal of this presentation is to analyze the role of pensions as the individual and familiar assets to face aging, poverty and vulnerability. The first part includes a brief description of the regional context in terms of demographic transition, poverty and social security coverage. In the second part, the analysis focuses on the situation of labour and social security of the urban older adults of Argentina during the process of exclusion, crisis and recovery, and its association with the entry or overcoming of poverty and vulnerability. This includes gender perspectives and intergenerational exchange using as source microdata from the Permanent Household Survey (EPH) carried out by the National Statistical Office (periods 1996-2002; 2004-2006 and 2008-2010).