Commenting on the project approved by the Senate yesterday, which creates different rules for the retirement of community health workers, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad stressed that measures that may generate permanent expenses must be accompanied by a source of compensation.
– We are open to discuss the merits of any proposal. Let’s find the path to sustainability. I do not go into the merits of the proposal, but rather defend a thesis that precedes the proposal. “We will indicate the source of funding and there is no problem in following up,” the minister said during an interview with Globo News.
The Head of Finance confirmed that there is unified jurisprudence from the Supreme Federal Court (STF) that prevents the creation of ongoing expenditures without corresponding revenues. He also noted that it was a matter of “common sense” and that Congress had also made a “significant effort” to send the budget in surplus. According to the minister, approving measures to increase mandatory spending without compensation “does not appear to be a concrete path.”
– In my opinion, there is a logical issue, if Congress makes this huge effort to send the budget in surplus, you are rolling back the work that has been done, it does not seem like a concrete path. He said: We are open to discussing the merits of any proposal.
The proposal – approved by 57 votes to zero on Tuesday – lowers the minimum retirement age to 52 for men and 50 for women, ensuring completeness and parity and creating more beneficial rules than those currently envisaged for other categories with private pensions. Preliminary government estimates indicate an impact of about R$100 billion over ten years, especially for municipalities.
The decision of Senate President, Davi Alcolombre (Uniao-AP), to direct the project surprised the economic team. Executive Secretary for Finance, Dario Dorrigan, has made a public appeal to postpone the vote, stating that the text “has too much impact” and should not go ahead without detailed assessments.
However, the majority of senators voted in favor. Alcolombre declined to call it a “Bomb Agenda”, said it had been the target of the attacks, and stated that the project “saves lives” by recognizing the work of clients.
Now that the text is in the chamber’s hands, the government should try to modify devices deemed unsustainable or build some sort of solution that includes funding sources – something Haddad categorized as indispensable.
The technical note points out the discrepancies
The Ministry of Social Security issued a technical note criticizing the project. The document states the following:
- The proposed minimum age is lower than the age required for other categories of private pensions;
- Integration and parity in the public service were already abolished in 2003;
- As for organizing private retirement for this category, it requires following other constitutional standards, which is not included, according to the department, in the approved text.
The National Union of Municipalities also objected to the project, noting that it imposes new expenses without providing financial compensation mechanisms.