New Rules for Market-Linked Retirement Insurance

Resolution 431/2026 of the Argentine Insurance Superintendence (SSN), published in the Official Gazette on September 30, 2026, establishes guidelines for Market-Linked Group Retirement Insurance. The Resolution, which became effective on the same date, supplements the general retirement insurance framework established through SSN Resolutions 19106 and 19620.

The key development is not merely that investments in market-linked assets are permitted: the Resolution creates a specific framework under which employers may use group retirement insurance as a long-term savings and incentive program for all or certain employees and executives.

Key changes

Under the general retirement insurance framework, returns credited to policyholders are subject to certain minimum requirements, including a technical interest rate and a benchmark return. Resolution 431 introduces an exception for this new type of product: the special account funded by employer contributions is exempt from requirements to provide a minimum technical interest rate, benchmark rate, or guaranteed return. As a result, the account’s performance is linked to that of the market-linked assets specified in the policy, which must be authorized for public offering by the Argentine Securities Commission (CNV) and regularly traded on authorized markets.

If the policy allows contributions by insureds, their individual accounts may receive the same treatment, provided they have been clearly and adequately informed that no returns are guaranteed. The insurer must retain documentation signed by each insured confirming that they were duly informed and advised regarding the product’s characteristics and operation.

The policy must also expressly specify the vesting period and any conditions that must be met for funds to be transferred from the special account to the insured’s individual account. If an insured leaves before satisfying those requirements for reasons attributable to the insured, any rights to unvested balances are forfeited.

In that event, the funds remaining in the special account are available to the employer, which may withdraw them, redistribute them proportionately among the remaining insureds, or allocate them to a collective account to fund future premiums. By contrast, upon death, total and permanent disability, or attainment of the stipulated retirement age of the insured, 100% of the special account is automatically transferred to the individual account and paid out without surrender charges.

Advantages of the new framework

Resolution 431 provides greater flexibility to design products whose returns track market-linked assets and to structure employer contributions subject to vesting periods or the achievement of specified targets. This brings retirement insurance closer to deferred compensation arrangements and mechanisms designed to retain key personnel.

Conclusion

Resolution 431 does not replace the traditional retirement insurance framework. Instead, it introduces an alternative for group plans linked to market-linked assets. The ability to combine these assets with vesting mechanisms for employer contributions creates new opportunities to structure corporate savings, deferred compensation, and employee and executive retention programs through insurance.

Implementing these plans requires careful consideration of their labor and social security implications. Resolution 431 regulates the insurance aspects of the product, but it does not determine whether contributions or benefits qualify as remuneration or non-remunerative payments, nor does it provide an exemption from social security contributions. Their treatment will therefore depend on the terms of each plan and how it operates in practice, under the Argentine Labor Law and applicable social security regulations.