Article 12 of Law No. 5508 on the Promotion, Protection of Maternity and Support for Breastfeeding establishes that maternity allowance should be paid to employed women by the social security scheme of Paraguay’s Social Insurance Institute (Instituto de Previsión Social – IPS). This amount is equivalent to 100 per cent of her salary at the time of delivery, and is paid for the prescribed months of rest. This used to be given to women in a single payment.
The IPS launched a pilot plan to pay maternity allowance payments on a monthly basis from June until the end of the 2022 fiscal year. This change was made permanent on 10 January 2023. The beneficiaries are able to choose from 12 financial institutions, which then connect with the women and facilitate the payments free of charge.
The subsidy is paid from the health fund, which is financed by the monthly employer’s contribution. Paying this allowance in full means other commitments made by the IPS are not fulfilled.