120 a los 65: Payment Calendar, Requirements and How to Enroll

When 120 a los 65 pays

MIDES pays 120 a los 65 four times a year, together with Red de Oportunidades, Ángel Guardián and the SENAPAN food and nutrition voucher. As of October 5, 2026, three payments have been made and one remains. The dates for the fourth are:

• Tarjeta Clave Social (card): November 16 to 27, 2026.
• Hard-to-reach areas (cash): November 30 to December 4, 2026.

These dates come from the payment calendar MIDES posted on its social media accounts on January 2, 2026, as reported by Telemetro citing the ministry, and were repeated in August by La Estrella de Panamá based on the ministry’s announcement. The three earlier payments took place on the dates in that calendar. At the time of writing, the MIDES website had not yet published its own statement on the fourth payment.

Payments this year

2026 payments of the conditional cash transfer programs. Figures cover all programs combined.

What it is and how much each payment is

The law calls it Programa B/.120.00 a los 65. It was created by Law 86 of November 18, 2010, at first for people over 70. Law 15 of September 1, 2014 lowered the age to 65 and set the current amount. The MIDES regulations page also lists Law 117 of 2013 and Executive Decree 11 of 2013, which regulates it. MIDES runs it with funds from the national budget.

Law 15 states that the amount cannot be less than B/.120.00 a month. The program page on the MIDES website says B/.360.00 is paid every three months, meaning three monthly amounts grouped into each of the year’s four payments. The balboa is pegged one to one to the US dollar. The money cannot be garnished or subjected to deductions (article 15).

There are two ways to collect. Most beneficiaries receive the money on the Tarjeta Clave Social, a card that MIDES says works at ATMs and shops. In remote communities the payment is made in cash: in June the ministry set up 144 payment points reached by water, air and land routes in Colón, Darién, Veraguas and the indigenous comarcas.

Requirements and documents

Article 6 of Law 86, as amended by Law 15 of 2014, sets four conditions:

• Panamanian nationality. MIDES specifies that a foreign resident ID (cédula E) is not accepted.
• Being 65 or older.
• Not being retired or receiving a pension.
• Living in conditions of vulnerability, marginalization, social risk or poverty.

The ministry verifies the socioeconomic condition with a household survey and with databases from the Social Security Fund (CSS), the Public Registry, banks and other entities (articles 8 and 9). The documents listed on the official program page, checked on October 5, 2026, are:

• A copy of the applicant’s ID card and of every household member’s.
• Pay stubs of household members who work.
• A residence certificate from the Electoral Tribunal or, in hard-to-reach areas, from the local corregiduría.
• An electricity or water bill, or a note from the corregiduría where those services do not exist.
• A medical diagnosis, in case of disability.
• A sketch showing how to reach the home (not a Google printout).

How to enroll, step by step

Enrollment is free and open all year. As of the date of this review there is no online tool to enroll or to check an application: the process is done in person.

In its statement of February 4, 2026, MIDES stressed that the card procedure is personal and completely free, requires no intermediaries, and that valid information comes only from the institution’s official channels.

Obligations and grounds for exclusion

To keep the benefit, the person must attend health services for yearly checkups and keep the follow-up card up to date (article 13). The guide to Panama’s health system explains where people without insurance are treated.

Under Law 15 of 2014, the payment is lost for these reasons:

• Starting to receive a retirement benefit or pension. The beneficiary registry is checked at least every six months against the Social Security Fund and other entities, and anyone who begins receiving a pension is removed immediately (article 9).
• Giving false information. This leads to exclusion and a report to the authorities (article 10).
• No longer meeting the requirements. MIDES said in August 2026 that it cross-checks data with other entities to confirm that each beneficiary is still eligible.
• Death. The benefit is personal and non-transferable and ends when the beneficiary dies (article 15).

A suspension or exclusion is recorded in a resolution that is notified by public notice and can be challenged by reconsideration and appeal (article 17). For claims or questions about a payment that did not arrive, the official channels are the MIDES regional office, the head office at Plaza Edison (Avenida Ricardo J. Alfaro, fourth floor) and the phone number 500 6000.

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• November holidays and long weekends in Panama
• Minimum wage in Panama: how it works

Sources

All sources were checked on October 5, 2026. Official sources are in Spanish.

• MIDES, 120 a los 65 program page.
• Law 15 of September 1, 2014, Gaceta Oficial 27611.
• Law 86 of November 18, 2010, Gaceta Oficial 26663-E and the MIDES regulations page.
• Panamá Digital, enrollment in the B/.120.00 a los 65 program.
• MIDES statements: February 4, February 19, June 15, August 5 and September 3, 2026.
• Telemetro, MIDES 2026 payment calendar and La Estrella de Panamá, third and fourth payment dates.