Federal Emergency in Disability

Through Law 27793, published in the Official Gazette on September 22, 2025, the Argentine Congress declared a nation-wide emergency in disability until December 31, 2026, with the possibility of extending it for another year.

The purpose of the law is to ensure compliance with the federal government's obligation, assumed in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities—which has constitutional hierarchy—to adopt the measures necessary to guarantee the rights to life, health, rehabilitation, education, social protection, and work (among others) for persons with disabilities.

The law—of public order—states that it will call “persons with disabilities” those “who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments that, when interacting with various barriers, may prevent their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.”

Law 27793 also amends Law 13478 and grants an unseizable pension to any person aged 70 or over, or with a disability who has a single disability certificate (CUD), who lacks sufficient resources of their own or is not covered by a social security system.

The non-contributory pension for persons with disabilities will be called “non-contributory disability pension for social protection,” and those who wish to receive it must meet the following requirements:

• provide proof of the CUD,

• provide proof of identity, age, and nationality through a personal ID,

• be an Argentine-born citizen or native by choice or naturalization,

• provide proof of at least five years of continuous legal residence in Argentina before the date of applying for the benefit, in the case of foreign nationals,

• not receive net income equal to or greater than two minimum living wages (individual income will be taken into account, not household income),

• not be covered by contributory or non-contributory social security, permanent retirement, or pension scheme,

• pass the socioeconomic assessment carried out by the Argentine Disability Agency (ANDIS) according to the criteria established by the Federal Disability Council (if you own a home, you must prove that it is your sole family residence).

The pension consists of a monthly payment equivalent to 70% of the minimum guaranteed retirement income referred to in Law 24241 (and its complementary and amending provisions) and is updated in accordance with the legal system in force in this area.

The Law also provides that the pension will be compatible with having a formal employment relationship and/or being registered in the general and/or simplified regime in force, to the extent prescribed by the Law, provided that the beneficiary's income does not exceed two minimum living wages.

On the other hand, the Law provides that pension recipients are entitled to a medical care and health coverage program that guarantees the basic benefits established in Law 24901 (as amended and supplemented).

It also provides that any non-contributory pension granted in accordance with the regulations in force at the time ANDIS awarded it before the date of publication of this Law in the Official Gazette will automatically become a non-contributory disability pension for social protection.

On another note, the Law amends article 2 of Law 22431, which now states: “For the purposes of this law, persons with disabilities are understood to be those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments that, when interacting with various barriers, may prevent their full and effective participation in society, on an equal basis with others, under the terms of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”

Along the same lines, it also amends article 3 of the same law and states that ANDIS, in coordination with the Federal Disability Council, will establish the guidelines for the certification of disability and its characteristics, considering the person’s physical, mental, intellectual, sensory, and social conditions, in accordance with the multidimensional and dynamic conception of disability set forth in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and in the provisions of Laws 27269 and 27711.

It goes on to say that the CUD fully certifies disability throughout the Argentine territory in cases where it is necessary to invoke it. Therefore, ANDIS must implement expeditious actions to facilitate granting and updating the CUDs throughout Argentina.

The Law includes a chapter on strengthening the providers of Law 24901 and declares the services of the providers of the system established by that Law to be of federal public interest, due to their contribution to guaranteeing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the national and international legal system in this area.

In addition to the above, the Law provides that the Federal Executive branch must finance, with resources from the treasury, emergency compensations for providers who provide services on behalf of State agencies and the entities listed in article 1 of Law 23660 of the basic comprehensive care benefits system for persons with disabilities established by Law 24901.

Accordingly, the Law incorporates article 7 bis to Law 24901 and thus establishes that the fees for the basic comprehensive care benefits system for persons with disabilities will be the same for all legal entities bound by the Law. These fees will be determined by the board of directors of the Basic Comprehensive Care Benefits System for Persons with Disabilities and updated in accordance with the provisions of Executive Decree 274/24, or any future decree that replaces it, which determines the index of mobility for retirement benefits, pensions, and allowances.

Finally, the Law empowers the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers to make budgetary increases and modifications to ensure the financing of measures to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities and of providers in their favor, as provided for in the Law, clarifying that budgetary restructuring may not be carried out by reducing the sums corresponding to the purpose of “social services.”

The Law was enacted by Decree 681/2025 and, Administrative Decision 24/2025 of the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers modified the federal budget for the 2025 fiscal year.