Bill 399.

Summary.

The bill replaces Article 3 of Law 86 of 2010, which governs the monthly cash transfer program for older adults. The revised provision sets the eligibility age at sixty-five or older. The transfer is intended for Panamanians who do not receive a pension or retirement benefit because they did not contribute to the Social Security Fund (Caja de Seguro Social), owing to their not having worked for a private entity, whether domestic or foreign, or for a public institution, or to their having held employment classified as informal. The provision therefore addresses age, the absence of a pension or retirement benefit, and the employment circumstances associated with the lack of contributions.

The Ministry of Social Development (Ministerio de Desarrollo Social), acting through the Program's Executive Secretariat (Secretaría Ejecutiva), would have to approve or reject applicants' requests with stated reasons. It would have no more than three (3) months to do so, measured from the submission of the application together with its supporting documents. The requirement to give reasons applies to either decision, while the time allowed for a decision begins when the applicant files the request with the documents supporting it.

If that period expires without a decision, the application would be deemed approved through positive administrative silence. In that situation, the institution would have to make payment of the monthly financial assistance within no more than three (3) months from the date on which administrative silence takes effect. The bill further provides that payment is to be made from the date the application was submitted. That filing date thus marks the starting point for the financial assistance payable under the provision. The monthly assistance would be delivered to beneficiaries at least every two (2) months. The text addresses both the monthly nature of the assistance and the minimum frequency of its delivery.

Article 2 expressly identifies the amendment as a change to Article 3 of Law 86 of November 18, 2010. Article 3 provides that the proposed law would take effect on the day after its promulgation. Taken together, the articles address who could receive the transfer, how applications would be processed, the effect of a failure to decide within the prescribed period, and the timing of payment and delivery of the assistance.

The public bodies connected with these provisions are the Social Security Fund (Caja de Seguro Social), the Ministry of Social Development (Ministerio de Desarrollo Social), and the Program's Executive Secretariat (Secretaría Ejecutiva). The bill could affect older adults without a pension or retirement benefit who meet Article 3's conditions, including people who held informal employment or did not work for a domestic or foreign private entity or a public institution.