In a turnaround, the Federal Supreme Court decided, by 7 votes to 4, this Thursday (21), to overturn the understanding of the Court itself that authorized the lifetime review of INSS pensions.
The change of position occurred because the ministers judged two actions of unconstitutionality, and not the extraordinary appeal in which the retirees gained the right to review.
The majority decided that retirees do not have the right to choose the most favorable rule for benefit recalculation.
When considering the 1999 social security rules constitutional, the majority of ministers understood that the transition rule is mandatory; and cannot be optional for retirees according to the most beneficial calculation.
The ministers analyzed provisions of the Law that reformed Social Security and created a transition rule. According to this rule, the calculation for workers’ retirement in 1999 could only be made with contributions made from July 1994, when the real plan began.
The calculation would only cover 80% of the largest contributions after that date. The definitive rule, for those who joined after the law, takes into account 80% of lifetime salaries.
In December 2022, the Supreme Court itself considered that retirees have the right to choose to apply the most advantageous rule, with the recalculation of the benefit.
In this Thursday’s decision, it was established that, for those who contributed before that date, the transition rule applies and not the more beneficial calculation.
The thesis presented by minister Cristiano Zanin won:
For the president of the STF, minister Luís Roberto Barroso, it is necessary to preserve the fiscal integrity of the social security system.
In a statement, the Union’s attorney general, Jorge Messias, congratulated the STF and said that the Court’s decision guarantees the financial balance of Social Security.