PanExpats
Sign Up

A new bill revives bigger discounts for retirees

Panama's retiree discounts are back on the Assembly's agenda, two weeks after President José Raúl Mulino vetoed the last attempt to expand them. Deputy Javier Sucre presented Bill 256 to the full Assembly on Monday 5 October (La Estrella), and retiree groups returned to the Assembly on Tuesday 6 October to push for a vote before the session ends on 31 October (Mi Diario, Telemetro). Nothing in the bill is law yet.

On 20 September, Mulino issued a total veto of Bill 226, which would have amended Law 6 of 1987, the law behind Panama's well-known senior discounts. The Presidency cited reasons of inconvenience and unconstitutionality. La Estrella reported that the government pointed to the lack of a fiscal-impact study, possible harm to micro and small businesses, and provisions it considered contrary to the Constitution. Business group Apede had asked for the veto on 2 September (La Estrella, Crítica).

What Bill 256 proposes

According to Sucre (La Estrella, Crítica), the new bill keeps the focus on basic needs and drops or trims some of the leisure items that worried businesses:

  • Food, medicines and medical care.
  • Mobility aids such as wheelchairs, canes and walkers.
  • Household services: electricity, water, garbage collection, telephone and internet.
  • Tourism, hotel and leisure benefits revised after talks with the government, retirees and business groups.

Guillermo Cortés of the Movimiento Mundo de Jubilados told Telemetro and Mi Diario that the bill also adds discounts on diapers, on equipment used by people who need assistance, on some products for adapting homes, and on care for illnesses such as cancer, plus 5 more points of discount on medicines. He said the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) would have to set up a support mechanism, which he described as a kind of trust fund, for small businesses affected by the changes. Sucre says a senior who uses the discounts all year could save up to US$1,000, and he has asked to meet Economy Minister Felipe Chapman about funding (La Estrella).

What happens next

The bill has to be taken up by a committee and then pass three debates before it goes back to the Executive, which can sign or veto it again (Mi Diario, La Estrella). Cortés says only about 15 session days are left. The official text of Bill 256 was not available online at the time of writing, so the exact percentages and caps are not yet known.

What you already get today

Law 6 of 1987 is still fully in force. Its consolidated text covers Panamanians and foreign residents aged 55 or older (women) or 60 or older (men), and all retirees and pensioners. Acodeco's guidance treats the Pensionado residency category as resident status for these benefits. Among the discounts already in the law:

  • 25% at restaurants and 15% at fast-food chains.
  • 20% on medicines, 20% on doctors' consultations, 15% on dental and optometry, and 15% on private hospital and clinic bills (conditions apply).
  • 25% on airfares, 30% on interurban buses and boats, and 50% on cinemas and shows.
  • Hotels at 50% off Monday to Thursday and 30% off Friday to Sunday.
  • 25% off electricity up to 600 kWh a month, 25% off water bills up to B/.30, and 25% off the fixed charge on one residential phone line, when the account is in your name.
  • 20% on professional and technical services, and 1 point off the interest rate on a mortgage for your own home.

Businesses that refuse a discount can be fined by Acodeco from B/.50 to B/.5,000.

What it means for expats

If you hold a Pensionado visa or are over 55 (women) or 60 (men) with legal residency, you are already entitled to Law 6 discounts, so ask for them. For utilities, make sure the electricity, water and phone accounts are in your name and request the retiree rate from the provider. Treat the new list as a proposal: the last one passed three debates and was still vetoed. If you feel a business wrongly refused a discount, keep your receipt and file a complaint with Acodeco.

Sources

  • La Estrella - Sucre presents Bill 256 to the plenary; contents; veto grounds; US$1,000 savings claim; meeting request with Chapman; three debates, sanction by 31 Oct - 5 Oct 2026 (16:36, upd. 18:50 Panama)
  • Crítica - Bill 256 after veto of 226; basic needs, utilities, internet; tourism and hotels revised; deadline 31 Oct - 6 Oct 2026
  • Telemetro - Guillermo Cortés: diapers, assistive equipment, water, power, garbage fee; benefits not yet in force - 6 Oct 2026 (08:20 Panama)
  • Mi Diario - Retirees return to the Assembly 6 Oct; internet, home-adaptation products, cancer care, +5% medicines, MEF trust-type mechanism; prohijamiento then debates; 15 session days left - 6 Oct 2026 (14:25 Panama)
  • Panamá América - Cortés: Law 6 benefits on hotels, cruises and some services kept; +5% medicines; cancer care; internet - 6 Oct 2026
  • Presidencia (release via Public) - Mulino vetoes Bills 226 and 594; 226 vetoed in full for inconvenience and unconstitutionality - 20 Sep 2026
  • La Estrella - Apede asks Mulino to veto Bill 226 over MiPyme impact - 2 Sep 2026
  • Law 6 of 1987, texto único, Gaceta Oficial Digital 26314-A, 30 Jun 2009 (Art. 1 beneficiaries incl. foreign residents; numerals 2 to 23; Art. 5 fines B/.50 to B/.5,000) - copy hosted by Acodeco
  • Acodeco - Criterios Ley de jubilados, pensionados y tercera edad (criterion: "turista pensionado" category counts as resident and beneficiary, Decree 320 of 2008)