In supermarkets, adults can be seen browsing the shelves looking for discounted products, sometimes returning several at the checkout because they don’t have enough money to buy them, or buying less than they did a few years ago.
According to estimates by the Argentine Institute for Fiscal Analysis (IARAF), retirees felt the loss after President Javier Milei’s administration froze the 70,000 peso (US$66) benefit in March 2024.
The income of retirees with minimum pensions and bonuses registered a real drop of 5.4 percent, the IARAF informed in its latest report, details about the weathering inflation state of those above that scale.
Those whose purchasing power has declined received 349,121 pesos (US$331) in March, divided into a pension of 279,221 pesos (US$295) and a bonus of 70,000 pesos (US$66).
The Institute warns that pensions fell in March compared to the previous month due to a real decrease of 1.4 percent in February and March, due to the jump in inflation to 3.7 percent, which exceeded the January adjustment.
According to the institution, pensions have shown a downward trend since 2017, bottoming out in February 2024, when purchasing power fell 62 percent compared to 2017.
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