If your mother or father is getting older in Guatemala and you live in the United States, the Guatemalan state offers two things worth checking first. MINTRAB’s senior benefit (PAM) pays Q500 a month (the amount set by Decreto 4-2022), about US$65, to Guatemalans aged 65 or over in extreme poverty or social vulnerability who have no pension; your parent applies at a MINTRAB departmental office and a social worker studies the household at home. A parent with an IGSS pension can turn to CAMIP, the institute’s medical centre for pensioners, and must prove survival every year within 30 calendar days of their birthday (on a survivor pension, of the deceased member’s birthday). From the US you can pay for care, sign a power of attorney at a Guatemalan consulate so that someone in Guatemala can act for you, and line up the care-home and emergency contacts in advance.
This page brings the pieces together and links our detailed guides. Information checked on 5 November 2026; dollar amounts use Banguat’s reference rate for 4 November 2026 (Q7.64082 per US dollar).
Quick summary
| Need | What to know | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| A monthly benefit for a parent without a pension | PAM: 65 or older, extreme poverty or social vulnerability, no pension; Q500 a month since Decreto 4-2022 | Senior benefit programme |
| Where to apply | The nearest MINTRAB departmental office (Dirección Departamental) | Below |
| How it is paid | Monthly, at any BANRURAL agency or rural cash office | Below |
| Medical care for an IGSS pensioner | CAMIP: medical services, medicines, preventive and recreational activities | IGSS CAMIP |
| Keeping an IGSS pension | Proof of survival every year, within 30 calendar days of the birthday (the deceased member’s birthday for survivor pensions) | IGSS survival verification |
| Having someone act for you in Guatemala | A consul who is a qualified notary can act as a Guatemalan notary (Notarial Code, Art. 6) | Consular power of attorney |
| Paying for care | Compare remittance costs before you set up a monthly transfer | Remittance comparator |
| Care homes | Our guide to assisted living and nursing homes | Assisted living and nursing homes |
| Emergencies | Our directory of emergency numbers | Emergency numbers |
The senior benefit: Programa de Aporte Económico del Adulto Mayor (PAM)
MINTRAB, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, runs the programme created by Decreto 85-2005, the Ley del Programa de Aporte Económico del Adulto Mayor.
Who it is for. MINTRAB describes the beneficiaries as people aged 65 or older in extreme poverty or social vulnerability who lack income or a pension that covers their basic needs.
Requirements, as MINTRAB lists them:
- Guatemalan nationality.
- Not receiving a pension, and not working for the State or a private employer.
- Presenting a DPI.
- Undergoing a socioeconomic study by MINTRAB social workers.
The procedure, in MINTRAB’s order:
- Submit the application at the MINTRAB departmental office (Dirección Departamental) nearest to where your parent lives.
- MINTRAB verifies the documents and cross-checks the information against databases.
- A socioeconomic study takes place at the applicant’s home.
- The applicant is declared a beneficiary.
- The payment is collected every month at any BANRURAL agency or rural cash office.
The amount. Congress announced on 26 January 2022 that it had approved Decreto 4-2022, which reforms Decreto 85-2005 and raises the monthly payment from Q400 to Q500 per beneficiary (about US$65), with Q820 million a year assigned to the programme.
Both steps take place in Guatemala: the application at a MINTRAB departmental office and the socioeconomic study at your parent’s home. Our senior benefit guide covers the application form and the programme’s separate proof-of-survival procedure.
Health care for a parent with an IGSS pension
IGSS says that members or beneficiaries who became pensioners by a final resolution are entitled to an invalidity, old-age or survivor pension. Its medical centre for them is CAMIP (Centro de Atención Médica Integral para Pensionados), which serves pensioners, retirees and beneficiaries with medical services, medicines, and preventive and recreational activities. The specialties IGSS lists for CAMIP:
| Specialty (IGSS’s list) | |
|---|---|
| Cardiología | Cardiology |
| Dermatología | Dermatology |
| Fisiatría | Physical medicine and rehabilitation |
| Ginecología | Gynaecology |
| Medicina Interna y General | Internal and general medicine |
| Neurología | Neurology |
| Odontología | Dentistry |
| Psicología | Psychology |
| Reumatología | Rheumatology |
| Traumatología | Traumatology |
| Urología | Urology |
The yearly survival check. IGSS says old-age, disability and survivor pensioners, and beneficiaries of a death-related pension, must prove survival and continued entitlement every year. Old-age, disability and death-related pensioners have 30 calendar days from their own birthday; survivor pensioners have 30 calendar days from the birthday of the deceased member whose pension they receive. The check is done at the CAMIP that serves them, at a departmental office (Delegación or Caja Departamental), or at the nearest Centro de Atención al Afiliado, and IGSS asks pensioners to update their details first. Put the date in your own calendar too. Details: IGSS survival verification and IGSS CAMIP.
If your parent has neither an IGSS pension nor private cover, start with the hospitals in our Guatemala City hospital directory, which lists public and private hospitals.
Having someone act for you in Guatemala: a consular power of attorney
A power of attorney lets someone in Guatemala act in your name. Guatemala’s Notarial Code (Art. 6) lists, among those who may also practise as notaries, the Republic’s consuls and diplomatic agents accredited and resident abroad who are qualified notaries under the code. Two guides cover signing a power of attorney at a Guatemalan consulate in the US: the consular power of attorney and notarial powers of attorney from the USA.
Paying for care from the US
- The transfer. Monthly support adds up, so compare providers before you commit. Our remittance comparator compares the fees and the quetzales each service delivers, and our page on the cheapest way to send US$500 works through a US$500 transfer.
- The US remittance tax. How the 2026 US tax on some remittances applies is covered on our US remittance tax page.
- What care costs. For going rates, see our price pages for an elderly caregiver and a home nurse.
When home is no longer enough: care homes
Our guide to assisted living and nursing homes in Guatemala covers the licence a care home needs, the public option and questions to ask on a visit.
Emergencies
Save the numbers before you need them, and give them to whoever lives closest to your parent. Our emergency numbers directory lists them.
A checklist for a son or daughter in the US
- Check whether your parent has an IGSS pension; if so, note the birthday deadline for the yearly survival check.
- If there is no pension and money is tight, ask the nearest MINTRAB departmental office about the PAM.
- Sign a consular power of attorney if someone needs to act for you in Guatemala.
- Set up a monthly transfer after comparing costs.
- Keep a list of hospitals, care homes and emergency numbers near your parent, and share it with the family in Guatemala.
Sources
- MINTRAB, Programa de Aporte Económico del Adulto Mayor (PAM): mintrabajo.gob.gt, read 5 November 2026.
- Congreso de la República, news release on the approval of Decreto 4-2022 (26 January 2022): congreso.gob.gt, read 5 November 2026.
- IGSS, Pensionados: igssgt.org, read 5 November 2026.
- IGSS, CAMIP: igssgt.org, read 5 November 2026.
- IGSS, Comprobación de supervivencia: igssgt.org, read 5 November 2026.
- Organismo Judicial, Código de Notariado, Art. 6: oj.gob.gt PDF, read 5 November 2026.
General information, not legal or medical advice. Confirm eligibility and dates with MINTRAB and the IGSS.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my mother get Guatemala's senior benefit if I send her money?
MINTRAB lists four requirements for the Programa de Aporte Económico del Adulto Mayor (PAM): Guatemalan nationality, not receiving a pension nor working for the State or a private employer, a DPI, and a socioeconomic study by MINTRAB social workers. It is aimed at people 65 or older in extreme poverty or social vulnerability who lack income or a pension that covers their basic needs. The requirements do not mention money sent by family abroad; the socioeconomic study comes before MINTRAB declares anyone a beneficiary.
How much is the senior benefit and how is it paid?
Congress raised the monthly payment from Q400 to Q500 per beneficiary when it approved Decreto 4-2022 in January 2022, about US$65 at Banguat’s reference rate for 4 November 2026. MINTRAB says beneficiaries collect it monthly at any BANRURAL agency or rural cash office (cajas rurales).
My father has an IGSS pension. What medical care does he get?
IGSS runs CAMIP, its Centro de Atención Médica Integral para Pensionados, for pensioners, retirees and beneficiaries. IGSS says CAMIP provides medical services, medicines and preventive and recreational activities, and lists specialties from cardiology and internal medicine to neurology, traumatology and urology.
Does an IGSS pensioner have to prove they are alive every year?
Yes. IGSS says old-age, disability and survivor pensioners must prove survival and continued entitlement every year, within 30 calendar days from their birthday (for survivor pensioners, from the birthday of the deceased member). It is done at the CAMIP that serves them, a departmental office (Delegación or Caja Departamental) or the nearest Centro de Atención al Afiliado.
Can I sign a power of attorney without flying to Guatemala?
A power of attorney lets someone in Guatemala act in your name. The Guatemalan Notarial Code (Art. 6) lets the Republic’s consuls and diplomatic agents posted abroad act as notaries when they are qualified notaries. Our consular power of attorney guide explains how to sign one at a Guatemalan consulate in the US.
