15
46. The Decree Law No. 20530 pension scheme regulated “State pensions and benefits for civil
services rendered by workers of the national public sector” who were not included in the National
Pensions System established by Decree Law N°1999040 of 1973. Under that scheme, created to
“compensate state workers who could not join the National Pensions System,”41 workers acquired
the right to a pension upon completing 15 years of service to the State, in the case of men, and 12.5
years in the case of women.42 The pension was calculated “on the basis of the last twelve (12) salaries
earned and at a ratio of 1/30 per year of service for men and 1/25 per year of service for women.”43
47. With the promulgation of the Constitution of 1979, after the issue of Decree Law No. 20530,
the Eighth General and Transitory Provision established the right of retired workers included in this
pension scheme, and with more than 20 years of service to the State, to have their pensions
progressively adjusted or equalized with the wages of active public officials and/or public servants.44
For this reason, Decree Law No. 20530 was known as the “Cédula viva” system or the “renewable
pension,” due to the “mirror effect” that automatically equalized the pensions for dismissed or retired
workers with the wages of active workers (active public servants), using as reference the last position
held by the pensioner.45 In this sense, the pension received by the beneficiary was equal to that of
the active worker, and therefore the readjustment was in line with increases in the latter’s wages
(infra para. 48).
48. The benefit of pension equalization was a privilege extended by the Constitution to persons
subject to Decree Law No. 20530, as it was not originally included in the text of said Decree. This
benefit was implemented through Law No. 23495 of November 1982 and its Regulations, and through
Supreme Decree No. 015-83-PCM of March 1983. Article 5 of that Law established that: “any postequalization increase awarded to active public servants in the same or a similar position to the last
position held by the dismissed or retired worker shall give rise to the same pension increase to which
the active public servant is entitled.”46
49. On September 30, 1990 Mr. Muelle Flores retired from Tintaya S.A., a State-owned company
governed by private law. Mr. Muelle Flores received his pension in accordance with Decree Law No.
20530, from October 1, 1990 until January 1991. On February 27, 1991, he received Communication
No. GA/0130/91 from the company’s administrative manager, unilaterally informing him that, on the
advice of an external legal adviser, the pension scheme under Decree Law 20530 was being
suspended.47 Mr. Muelle Flores was informed that the Decree was no longer applicable to company
40
Cf. Article 1 of Decree Law No. 20530 that established the Pensions and Benefits Regime for Civil Services Rendered
to the State not included in Decree Law No. 19990, promulgated on February 27, 1974. Cf. Affidavit rendered by César José
Gonzáles Hunt on August 24, 2018 (evidence file, folio 1849).
41
Affidavit rendered by César José Gonzáles Hunt on August 24, 2018 (evidence file, folio 1849).
42
Cf. Article 4 of Decree Law No. 20530, supra.
43
Affidavit rendered by César José Gonzáles Hunt on August 24, 2018 (evidence file, folio 1849).
44
The Eighth Transitory Provision of the 1979 Peruvian Constitution established that: “The pensions of dismissed and
retired public administration workers with more than 20 years of service who are not subject to the Peruvian Social Security
Service regime, or any other special regimes, are progressively equalized with the wages of active public servants in the
respective categories, for a period of 10 fiscal years, starting from January 1, 1980, and must be included in the National
Budget under the appropriate headings.”
45
Cf. Affidavit rendered by César José Gonzáles Hunt of August 24, 2018 (evidence file, folio 1850).
46
Article 5 of Law No. 23495, “Progressive Equalization of Pensions of Discharged and Retired Workers of the Public
Administration not subject to the Social Security System or to other special regimes,” adopted on November 19, 1982.
47
Cf. Judgment of the Fifth Civil Court of Lima on July 19, 1991 (evidence file, folios 23 to 24), and Judgment of the