Brazil gov’t proposes minimum retirement age

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro and his economic staff decided to set the minimum age for retirement at 65 for men and 62 for women and introduce a 12-year transition period under the bill on the country’s pension reform. The piece of legislation will be submitted to Congress next Wednesday (Feb. 20).

The announcement was made by Special Secretary for Social Security Rogério Marinho, who met today (14) with the president at his residence, joined by Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, Chief of Staff Onyx Lorenzoni, and Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, head of the government’s secretariat.

Secretary Rogério Marinho - Fabio Rodrigues Pozzebom/Agência Brasil

Also on Wednesday, after signing the bill, Bolsonaro will make a pronouncement explaining the people the need for changing the rules for retirement in Brazil. “He will explain how this new pension system will be submitted to Congress for discussion. We hope it is approved soon,” Marinho said.

The details of the proposal will not be disclosed until Wednesday, Marinho reported. “The president had the final say on this and asked us to unveil only a few pieces of information. The content of the text will be disclosed on [February] 20. The details, however, will only be seen by Congress members—also in deference to Parliament.”

The text took weeks before reaching its final form and was brought to the president for approval. “The president had been regularly notified. We came back with the text in its final form today,” the secretary said. After changes worked out between Bolsonaro and his team, the text is to be sent to the relevant technical department, where its constitutionality will be validated before the president may sign it.

The government estimates that the pension overhaul will lead to some $260 million being spared over the next ten years. As the piece of legislation is a constitutional amendment bill, the reform must be brought to vote twice in the lower house, and next at the Senate, with the minimum support of two thirds of lower house members and senators in each round of vote.

*Wellton Máximo contributed to this article.