After talking about anti-reform, Lupi says that the debate on Social Security is punctual

The idea of ​​revising Carlos Lupi’s Social Security reform does not involve the broad reversal or cancellation of the rules approved in 2019. The clarification was made by the new Minister of Social Security hours after the strong negative reaction of economic agents the day before, when he mentioned a “anti-reform”.

Lupi says he wants to discuss points considered “unfair”. Any change could increase the Social Security deficit which, for the new minister, does not exist.

“I spoke of creating a quadripartite commission to analyze and propose to the National Congress the correction of some points that are unfair. And I gave as an example the regionalization of the minimum age for women”, explained Lupi to CNN .

The reform approved by the Jair Bolsonaro government provides for a minimum retirement age of 62 years for women and 65 years for men.

The Minister of Social Security explains that “Brazil is a continental country with different realities”, which would not have been taken into account in the Social Security reform.

One of the arguments is the difference in life expectancy. According to the IBGE, a newborn from Santa Catarina tends to live, on average, 15.9 years longer than a newborn from Piauí.

On Tuesday (3), in his inauguration speech, Lupi attacked the current reform that, for him, was “made to take away rights” from workers. Therefore, it will create a commission to evaluate the current rules.

Questioned, the minister did not comment on whether these adjustments could increase Social Security spending. But it is worth remembering that, during the discussion of the reform in 2019, any easing of the rule represented an increase in expenses and, therefore, were not defended by the economic team.

The fact is that the new minister’s speech was very poorly received by the financial market. For economists, Lupi’s speech is yet another sign that the new government wants to reverse reforms and increase public spending. About this, Lupi says that “the market is not the guardian of the State, and it is to our population that we owe efficiency and satisfaction”.

Social Security Deficit

During his inauguration on Tuesday, the new minister also drew attention by defending that “Social Security is not in deficit” and that he would prove the statement “with numbers, data and information”.

The phrase was received with surprise by economists, since data from the National Treasury indicate that, from January to November 2022, the deficit of the General Social Security System (RGPS) amounted to R$ 267.9 billion. The negative sign is, in fact, a historical constant in the Social Security accounts – and the 2019 reform tries, precisely, to reduce this gap in the coming years.

This Wednesday (4), Lupi explained that the problem is that the Social Security account includes non-pension expenses – such as the benefits of continued provision, the BPC – and does not take into account income with social security allocation – such as PIS and Cofins.

The minister explains that, “accounting speaking”, the result of Social Security would be positive if social expenses were withdrawn and the collection linked to security were added.

Accounting or not, the fact is that INSS pensions and other social benefits are paid, at the end of the day, by the Union Budget, which is unique – whether or not it is stamped with social security revenue. And, on the last line, the 2023 Budget foresees a deficit of more than R$ 230 billion.