Panama retirees want Martinelli to live up to $50 election promise

Panama’s retirees were back on the streets on Tuesday (August 10), demanding that President Ricardo Martinelli live up to his election promise of a $50 a month increase in their pensions, 

The reponse from the Executive and the Social Security Fund (CSS) was to highlight the financial difficulties involved in living up to a promise.
Guillermo Sáez-Llorens, director of the CSS, said that Increasing pensions would have a "significant impact" on the financing of programs dealing with disability, old age and death (IVM)

The Minister of Economy and Finance, Alberto Vallarino said that the Executive’s commitment was "to assume half of the increase."
Calculations made by the CSS show that a $ 50 increase in the retirement pension would add at least $38 million dollars annually to the IVM  program that last year had a deficit of $64 million.

Carlos Abadia, a former deputy health minister who was part of the group of advisors who proposed to the previous administration a comprehensive reform of the health system in the country,said that the CSS could not support another increase. 

Vallarino  said an adjustment in the amount of pensions, would mean a review of the fees paid by the insured. "It would benefit the pensioners but their children and grandchildren will suffer," he warned.

The retirees finished the marches and gave the government until October to come up with an answer.

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