Jalisco’s means-tested social pension, which is restricted to residents 70 years of age and older, first became available in May of 2007, in urban communities not covered by the federal 70+ programme. The pension, known as “Vive Grande”, provides a cash benefit of 500 pesos (US$39) a month, the same as the federal 70+ pension, but payments are quarterly rather than bimonthly.
At the beginning of 2012, there were 31,154 recipients of a state social pension. The federal 70+ programme is much larger, with 117,000 rural beneficiaries. An additional 100,866 beneficiaries from urban communities are expected to enrol in 70+ during the year 2012. This, effectively, marks the end of state government involvement in social pensions in Jalisco. The government of Jalisco could have followed the example of Chiapas and Mexico City, providing pensions to those younger than 70, and additional cash payments at least for the poorest pensioners, but the state chose not to “duplicate” federal efforts in this area.
Earlier this year, TdJ reported that the Jalisco legislature had passed a law to provide all elderly residents from the age of 70 a minimum universal pension equal to 15 days of one-half the minimum wage (then about 840 pesos). This story, though widely disseminated in local media, was not true. The law – first tabled in 2006 – was passed in committee, but was never approved by the full legislature.
Tags: Mexican States, Mexico, targeting