Argentina has postponed the start of employer-funded labor assistance funds by one month to Dec. 1, extending preparations for a system intended to help private employers meet payments when employment ends.
An Oct. 20 decree moved the start from Nov. 1. It cited unfinished procedures, systems and testing, along with requests for more time from three financial industry associations.
The decree also lengthened the wait before a fund can cover eligible payments, from six to 12 full, consecutive monthly accrual and payment periods. The count starts in the month an employer’s first contribution is registered with the tax agency.
The funds, known as Fondos de Asistencia Laboral, will place employer contributions in investment vehicles overseen by the Comisión Nacional de Valores (CNV), Argentina’s securities regulator. CNV Resolution 1167 set rules for those vehicles in September.
When the regime takes effect, covered large companies will contribute 1% of qualifying pay each month, while covered micro, small and medium-sized companies will contribute 2.5%, under the labor modernization law. The law permits contributions to be suspended under specified conditions.
The law also provides for equivalent reductions in employers’ social security contributions once the fund regime begins. That reduction does not apply to employment relationships covered by the labor formalization incentive while the incentive remains in effect.
CNV President Roberto E. Silva said at the Forbes Fintech Summit 2026 on Oct. 20 that the funds could make employment-related costs more predictable for employers and bring investment into Argentina’s capital markets. He said the regulator was developing a framework to give financial market participants greater certainty as implementation approaches.
Fund coverage is limited to obligations involving workers who were registered for at least 12 months before their employment ended. Employers remain liable for the full amount owed if their fund accounts cannot cover it. The revised start date is Dec. 1.
