Your ANSES Pension and Social Security When You Move Abroad (2026)
Key takeaways
- Argentina’s contributory pension is the SIPA (Sistema Integrado Previsional Argentino), administered by ANSES.
- Your Argentine contribution years are preserved; international agreements let you combine them with foreign contribution periods (totalización de períodos).
- Argentina has social-security agreements with, among others, Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece, Israel, Slovenia, South Korea and its Ibero-American and Mercosur neighbours.
- The Convenio Multilateral Iberoamericano has applied for Argentina since 2016 and links a whole group of countries under one framework.
- Under totalisation, each country pays a benefit in proportion to the years contributed there (prorrata).
- You can collect your pension abroad, but you must submit a certificado de supervivencia (fe de vida) every six months.
- Applications under an agreement go through ANSES’s international-agreements office; the United States does not currently have an agreement with Argentina.
The Argentine pension system in brief
Most employees and self-employed people in Argentina contribute to the SIPA, the national pay-as-you-go pension scheme managed by ANSES (Administración Nacional de la Seguridad Social). Your contributions are recorded against your CUIL, and they build entitlement to a retirement benefit (jubilación) when you reach the required age and contribution years. When you emigrate, two separate questions arise: can your Argentine years still count towards a pension somewhere, and can you actually receive the money while living abroad. The answer to both is generally yes — through the agreements and procedures below (ANSES — Prestaciones por convenio internacional).
Totalisation: how your contribution years travel with you
The core benefit of a social-security agreement is totalización de períodos — the totalisation of contribution periods. If you worked in Argentina and in another country that has an agreement with Argentina, the years contributed in each can be added together so you meet the minimum needed to qualify for a benefit. ANSES describes this as recognising “the years worked in another State to complete the requirements for access to the different benefits” (ANSES — Prestaciones por convenio internacional).
This matters most when you would otherwise fall short in either country. Suppose you contributed for 20 years in Argentina and then several years in Spain: neither period alone might meet the local minimum, but totalised they can. Each country then pays a pension calculated on a pro-rata basis (prorrata) — broadly, in proportion to the time you contributed there. You do not get one merged pension; you get a coordinated share from each country whose system you paid into.
Which countries have an agreement with Argentina
Argentina maintains a substantial network of bilateral social-security conventions. The official list of agreements in force includes Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, South Korea, Ecuador, El Salvador, Slovenia, Spain, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay (Argentina.gob.ar — Convenios internacionales de Seguridad Social vigentes).
On top of the bilateral treaties, Argentina participates in two multilateral frameworks: the Mercosur social-security agreement (with Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and the Convenio Multilateral Iberoamericano de Seguridad Social. If you are moving to Spain or Italy — two of the most common destinations for Argentines with European ancestry — you are covered: both have long-standing bilateral conventions with Argentina, and Spain is also within the Ibero-American framework.
One important gap to note: the United States does not currently have a social-security agreement with Argentina, so totalisation is not available for US contribution periods (Argentina.gob.ar — Convenios vigentes).
The Ibero-American Multilateral Agreement
The Convenio Multilateral Iberoamericano de Seguridad Social coordinates pension legislation across a group of Ibero-American States. It was signed in 2007, entered into force in 2011, and has applied for Argentina since 2016. Its member group includes Spain, Portugal, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic. Its purpose is to secure the social-security coverage of workers who move between member States over their working lives (ANSES — Convenio Iberoamericano de Seguridad Social). In practice it provides a single, harmonised route to totalise periods across several countries at once, which is especially useful if your working life spanned more than two of them.
How to apply for a pension under an agreement
Claims under an international agreement are handled by ANSES’s dedicated international-agreements office (Convenios Internacionales), which manages the case file end to end. You lodge a claim, and ANSES coordinates with the foreign social-security institution to confirm your foreign contribution periods and calculate each country’s pro-rata share. You can start the process from Argentina before you leave, or from abroad through the relevant foreign institution or an Argentine consulate (Argentina.gob.ar — Tramitar prestaciones por convenio internacional).
Practical tips: gather your Argentine work history and contribution records (constancia de aportes) before you move, keep your CUIL and identity documents current, and retain proof of employment in each country. Cross-border pension files can take time, so start early.
Collecting your pension while living abroad
A pension already granted can be paid to you abroad, but ANSES requires periodic proof that you are alive. Retirees and pensioners residing outside Argentina must obtain a certificado de supervivencia (fe de vida) twice a year — in January/February and July/August — by appearing in person at an Argentine consulate or before a local authority where they live. Only certificates processed and presented in those windows are valid (ANSES — Fe de vida (supervivencia) para residentes en el exterior).
If your benefit is paid through an authorised bank (banco apoderado), you submit the six-monthly survival certificate to that bank or to ANSES through the channels provided. An electronic option exists: pensioners who verify survival at a consulate enabled to certify electronically can be exempted from separately submitting the certificate to the bank. Consulates such as those in New York, Sydney and Montreal publish local instructions for this process (Argentina.gob.ar — Prestaciones por convenio internacional).
How Flyto can help
Flyto moves households from Argentina to Europe and worldwide, door-to-door; get a quote. We move your belongings; you keep your pension entitlements intact by using the ANSES agreements and survival-certificate process described above.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose my Argentine contribution years if I emigrate?
No. Through totalisation under an international agreement, your Argentine years can be combined with foreign contribution periods to qualify for a pension (Source: ANSES — Prestaciones por convenio internacional).
Can I actually receive my Argentine pension while living abroad?
Yes. It can be paid abroad, provided you submit a certificado de supervivencia (fe de vida) every six months (Source: ANSES — Fe de vida para residentes en el exterior).
Does Argentina have an agreement with Spain and Italy?
Yes. Both Spain and Italy have bilateral social-security conventions with Argentina, and Spain is also within the Ibero-American multilateral agreement (Source: Argentina.gob.ar — Convenios vigentes).
What about the United States?
There is currently no social-security agreement between Argentina and the United States, so US contribution periods cannot be totalised with Argentine ones (Source: Argentina.gob.ar — Convenios vigentes).
How often do I need to prove I am alive?
Twice a year — in January/February and July/August — in person at a consulate or local authority; certificates outside those windows are not valid (Source: ANSES — Fe de vida).
Where do I lodge a claim under an agreement?
Through ANSES’s international-agreements office, which coordinates with the foreign institution; you can start from Argentina or from abroad via the foreign body or a consulate (Source: Argentina.gob.ar — Tramitar prestaciones por convenio internacional).
Sources
- ANSES — Prestaciones por convenio internacional (totalización de períodos)
- ANSES — Convenio Iberoamericano de Seguridad Social
- ANSES — Fe de vida (supervivencia) para residentes en el exterior
- Argentina.gob.ar — Convenios internacionales de Seguridad Social vigentes (country list)
- Argentina.gob.ar — Convenios internacionales de Seguridad Social
- Argentina.gob.ar — Tramitar prestaciones por convenio internacional
- ANSES — Administración Nacional de la Seguridad Social (home)