The General Audit Office (AGN, for its acronym in Spanish) analyzed 74 family allowance reimbursements made in 2010, paid by the National Social Security Administration (ANSES) to employers who had made the contributions but for different reasons had a favorable balance. While it is estimated that the average time of accreditation is between 45 and 60 days, the research shows that almost 60% of the cases had the payment accredited a year later.

Until 2008 the Family Allowance Program was based on the Compensation System Fund, which required employers to pay their employees all the assignments and then were compensated for their contributions by being paid by the Single Tax Social Security (CUSS, for its acronym in Spanish). Because this system produced errors, and to ensure that the money reaches the beneficiaries, it was decided to create a different regime: the allowance of the workers came from the amounts that employers send ANSES in the form of social security payments.

Therefore, when there is a credit balance in favor of the employer because of the employer’s contributions, prior claim to the Social Security System, the ANSES refunds the money.

The 74 cases of reimbursements the Audit analyzed that they amount to $656,292.65. Hence, "21.74% of these cases were credited within 6 months on the application, 20.29% were accredited more than 6 months later and 57.97% were accredited in the beneficiary's account after the year of its original application." In addition, the watchdog said that there was "a case that took 3836 days."

It should be noted that the Management of Standards and Processes "carries the calculation of the time spent in the resolution of cases" and that the estimate of the average time (45 and 60 days) was made by the Service Management.

With regard to the pending payment refunds, auditors analyzed 25 applications and found that "there is a case that has a delay of 4178 days, calculated from the date of the request for reimbursement and August 2011 (date on which the AGN performed its investigation) ".

The report adopted this year, which explores the second half of 2010, found that "the average delay is 1,709 days." They also argue that "there are 10 cases pending resolutions that were sent into archives," in order to optimize the physical space for the new documents. This implies, according to the AGN, that "once the one year time lapse passes, the files could be wrongfully destroyed.” 

Refund Forecast 

For the year 2010, it had been foreseen, in the financial statements, 5,109 cases totaling an amount of $4,130,166.64, corresponding to requests for reimbursement submitted during 2010. However, the Management of Family Allowances and Unemployment informed the watchdog that "the requests entered and unsolved as of December 31st of that year, amounted to 25,498 cases."

This means that there was a difference of 20,389 cases pending from previous years that were not anticipated or reported in the financial statements.

The Closing of Compensator and Inclusion Fund SUAF

The Single Family Allowances, SUAF, was transformed over the years: born in 2003 as a control system and since 2008 it should have gradually incorporated all former employers into the new system. By March 2010, the payments of "all companies belonging to the System of Compensation Fund were incorporated into SUAF, except for public bodies and teaching or private schools staff and teachers of private universities". Meanwhile, "all new businesses, i.e. those that are enlisted as an employer in the AFIP, are automatically included in the system. Given these measures, in July of that year there was a massive inclusion."

To request cancellation or suspension of SUAF, the company must have a resolution of exclusion issued by the same system, and the decision to suspend or inhibit a company also borne by the Management Control, which has legal tools such as CUIT inhibition.

Accordingly, the auditors identified "an evolution of the inclusion of companies in SUAF: between 2003 and 2011 to 3,336,072, with peaks in 2009, 2010, and 2011."