A 70-year-old retiree from Trinidad, Cuba, captured the deep-seated anxiety of countless elderly individuals on the island in under a minute.
Mariano Matienzo, in a Facebook video, posed a question that remains unanswered: How does one live for an entire month on 4,000 Cuban pesos after dedicating 45 years to the workforce?
“I don’t care if it’s Putin, Maduro, Bukele, Trump, Obama, Raúl, Díaz-Canel, Marrero... anyone works for me,” Mariano stated plainly and without hesitation.
“All I want is for someone to explain how, on 4,000 pesos, after 45 years of work, I can eat for a whole month,” he continued.
He concluded his message with a poignant statement: “This isn’t a political issue; it’s about survival.”
The video resonated with many, accumulating over 45,000 views, more than 1,300 reactions, and around 200 comments. It highlights a pressing issue that affects over 1.7 million retirees in Cuba.
The minimum pension, set at 4,000 pesos by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security’s Resolution 14/2025, has been in effect since September 2025. This impacts 79% of the country’s pensioners.
However, with the unofficial exchange rate for the dollar ranging between 545 and 660 pesos as of June 2026, those 4,000 pesos are worth merely 7 to 8 dollars a month.
The gap between this meager amount and the actual cost of living is staggering. Experts estimate that one needs approximately 96,000 pesos monthly to meet basic needs—roughly 24 times the minimum pension. Basic food expenses alone hover around 70,000 pesos each month.
In Trinidad, where Mariano resides, market prices shed light on the severity of the issue: charcoal costs 3,500 pesos, and cooking oil is priced at 1,800 pesos. Thus, with 4,000 pesos, a retiree can barely afford one or two items.
In June 2026, a Cuban influencer illustrated that 3,000 pesos—the actual pension of a retired friend—couldn’t even cover a basic monthly food purchase.
Other accounts gathered in May 2026 are equally telling: retirees report that their pensions last no more than a week.
“In five, six, seven, or eight days, the money is gone,” one retiree recounted.
Compounding the inadequacy of pensions is the ordeal involved in collecting them. In June 2026, the government in Granma acknowledged insufficient funds to pay its 111,000 retirees, forcing seniors to endure lines of four to six hours in the sun for an amount insufficient for survival.
Mariano’s plight is far from unique. In April 2026, another retiree with four decades of work received a pension of 3,727 pesos—less than eight dollars—and had to wait eight months for the first payment. With that money, he could only buy potatoes, sugar, rice, and charcoal.
From September 2025 to June 2026, the purchasing power of the minimum pension dropped nearly 30%, declining from just under 10 dollars to less than eight.
Mariano encapsulates the crisis more effectively than any statistic: “Whoever solves this issue for me, I’ll be grateful for the rest of my life.”
The Economic Struggles of Cuban Retirees
How much is the minimum pension in Cuba?
The minimum pension in Cuba is set at 4,000 pesos, which is equivalent to approximately 7 to 8 dollars a month at the informal exchange rate.
What is the estimated monthly cost of living in Cuba?
Economists estimate that one needs around 96,000 pesos per month to cover basic living expenses in Cuba, which is significantly higher than the minimum pension provided.
Why is it difficult for retirees to collect their pensions in Cuba?
Retirees face long waits and inadequate funding, with the government admitting a lack of resources to pay out pensions, leading to hours-long queues.