Argentina’s securities regulator has defined how the financial vehicles behind the Employment Assistance Fund will be established and managed. Here is what CNV General Resolution 1167/2026 changes for employers.
Argentina’s National Securities Commission (CNV) has regulated the financial structure of the Fondo de Asistencia Laboral, or FAL. The new rules cover authorised managers, employer identifiers, automatic allocation, investments, costs and portability. Read this article in Spanish.
Argentina’s Employment Assistance Fund —Fondo de Asistencia Laboral, or FAL— is a pooled account held for each employer to help finance specified amounts due when employment relationships end. It does not reduce the employee’s legal entitlement, and it does not release the employer when the account balance is insufficient. The system was created by Law 27,802 and regulated in general terms by Decree 408/2026. CNV General Resolution 1167/2026 now supplies the detailed financial framework for the investment vehicles that will hold and manage the funds.
CNV General Resolution 1167/2026 does not create a second employment fund. It makes the investment side of the existing FAL system operational by defining who may manage the money, how each employer’s account is identified, what happens if an employer does not choose in time, and the applicable investment, fee and portability rules.
What is the FAL, and what does not change?
Argentina’s Employment Modernisation Law 27,802 requires each covered private-sector employer to maintain an individual account within a fund managed by a CNV-authorised entity. Legally, the account is a separate pool of assets dedicated to a specific purpose. It is independent from the manager’s own assets, may not be freely transferred, and is protected against attachment for unrelated debts.
The account belongs to the employer but is not divided into separate balances for each employee. A company with ten employees has one common FAL account that may be used, when the statutory conditions are met, to help pay obligations arising from the termination of any of those employment relationships.
The system is a financing mechanism, not a cap on liability. If an employer owes ARS 10 million and only ARS 4 million is available in the FAL account, the employer remains responsible for the remaining ARS 6 million. Spanish-speaking readers who want a broader introduction can consult our general guide to the FAL system.
What has the CNV now regulated?
The September resolution defines the architecture of the collective investment products that will operate within the FAL system, known as PIC FAL. They may be organised as special open-ended investment funds or as financial trusts. A vehicle may be created for one employer, for a group of related companies, or for multiple unrelated employers.
Authorised entities. Registered investment-fund management companies and financial trustees may act as FAL managers if they meet the CNV’s experience and eligibility requirements.
Employer identification. Each business receives an ID FAL connecting its Argentine tax identification number, the vehicle’s bank account and the system registration assigned to that employer.
Automatic allocation. If an employer does not report a valid ID FAL, the CNV may place it in an eligible vehicle using information supplied by Argentina’s revenue authority.
FAL disclosure sheet. Each vehicle must publish standardised information to make its investment policy, costs, risks and operational terms easier to compare.
How will the ID FAL work?
The ID FAL is the unique identifier connecting a business with its selected investment vehicle. The authorised manager must provide that identifier together with the fund’s bank-account details. It must also report employer registrations and removals to the CNV and retain evidence that the employer actually chose the vehicle.
Managers must report participating CUIT numbers —the tax identifier used by Argentine businesses— to the CNV by 5:00 p.m. on the tenth day of each month, or the next business day when appropriate. The CNV then forwards the information to ARCA, Argentina’s Federal Revenue and Customs Control Agency. Contributions for employers reported after the cut-off will be allocated in the following applicable monthly cycle. Employers should therefore avoid leaving the selection process until the last minute.
If two managers report the same CUIT, the CNV will request supporting records and assign the employer to the manager that most recently completed the contractual relationship. If neither manager provides the requested information, the most recently reported vehicle prevails. A dated engagement record and confirmation of the ID FAL are therefore operational safeguards, not mere paperwork.
What if the employer does not select a fund?
Failure to choose does not keep a company outside the regime. When ARCA reports that an employer has no valid ID FAL, the CNV may automatically allocate the company to a vehicle that has agreed to receive such assignments. Eligible vehicles will receive allocations according to their order of creation.
The assigned manager must open the account within five business days without requiring an additional expression of consent from the employer. The company may later move the assets elsewhere. In particular, the ordinary six-month minimum between transfers does not apply when the original placement resulted from automatic allocation.
How may the money be invested, and what may it cost?
The assets do not remain idle. They are invested under the policies authorised for PIC FAL vehicles, subject to diversification, liquidity and conflict-of-interest controls. The resolution prohibits pledges or other security interests over the assets and restricts investments that finance participating employers, subject to narrow exceptions capped at ten per cent.
Managers cannot charge unlimited fees. The annual one per cent cap is comprehensive and includes the ordinary fees, professional charges and expenses needed to structure and operate the vehicle, including VAT when applicable. Certain transaction costs, CNV supervisory charges and extraordinary expenses fall outside the cap. An employer comparing vehicles should therefore review not only the headline fee, but also the investment policy, liquidity, risk and treatment of excluded costs.
How does portability work?
An employer may request a transfer to another PIC FAL, whether managed by the same authorised entity or a different one, provided the receiving vehicle accepts the transfer. The assets, records and relevant operational information must be transferred within ten business days after the request. Pending employment-related payments must be resolved before the transfer is completed.
Transfers between different managers may generally take place in June or December and no more than once every six months. The vehicle documents may require advance notice, but no more than thirty calendar days. The six-month restriction does not apply to an employer initially placed through automatic allocation.
Which employment obligations may the FAL cover?
Law 27,802 permits the account to finance a broad list of amounts connected with termination, including statutory severance, notice pay, payment in lieu for the balance of the termination month, and specified amounts arising from disability, mutual termination, force majeure, death of the employee and other situations expressly listed in section 58.
Coverage requires the employment relationship to have been registered for at least twelve months before termination. The fund also has an initial waiting period of six monthly contribution periods. If the employment was inaccurately registered, the account may only be used on the basis of the information actually reported. Unregistered employees are not covered by the FAL.
Workers covered by the construction-industry regime under Law 22,250 and private-household employees under Law 26,844 are excluded because those sectors have separate statutory arrangements.
How much does an Argentine SME contribute?
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that qualify under Argentina’s MiPyME framework contribute 2.5% of the remuneration used to calculate employer contributions to the Integrated Pension System (SIPA). The rate for large companies is 1%. Law 27,802 also provides a corresponding reduction in employer social-security contributions for covered employment relationships, except while the Employment Formalisation Incentive Regime applies.
For example, an SME with a monthly assessable payroll of ARS 9 million contributes ARS 225,000 per month. After twelve months, it will have contributed ARS 2.7 million, plus investment returns and minus applicable fees and expenses. That amount belongs to the common employer account; it is not divided into separate ARS 450,000 balances for six employees.
What should an employer review before implementation?
Confirm MiPyME status. Whether the rate is 2.5% or 1% depends on the company’s formal statutory classification, not on an informal view of its size.
Model the monthly cash flow. Calculate the contribution using actual assessable payroll and distinguish it from the corresponding social-security reduction.
Compare vehicles. Review investment policy, liquidity, risk, the FAL disclosure sheet, payment procedures and excluded expenses as well as the headline fee.
Document the selection. Monthly cut-off dates and duplicate-CUIT rules make the engagement record and ID confirmation important evidence.
Monitor the remaining rules. The CNV has regulated the investment vehicles, while ARCA and the employment authorities must complete operational aspects within their respective powers.
Foreign owners and local employers may also find our guide on hiring a first employee in Argentina useful. For ongoing support with payroll structure, employment decisions and corporate organisation, visit our Business Law services in Argentina.
Frequently asked questions
Does the FAL replace statutory severance? No. It is a financing source. The employee’s entitlement and the employer’s total liability are not reduced by the existence or insufficiency of the account.
Is there a separate account for each employee? No. Each employer has one common account for its covered workforce within the selected investment vehicle.
What happens if the employer does not choose a manager? The CNV may automatically allocate the employer to an eligible PIC FAL. The employer may later exercise portability without waiting six months.
Does General Resolution 1167/2026 mean the entire system is ready? It completes the financial regulation of the investment vehicles. Employers must still monitor operational rules issued by ARCA and the competent employment authorities.
We can review the impact of the FAL on your payroll, confirm your company’s classification and help organise the employment decisions that should be addressed before implementation.
Send only basic information about the company, its activity and approximate headcount. We will contact you to assess how the regime may affect your situation.