INSS: STF resumes judgment of “whole life review” this Wednesday (23)

The Federal Supreme Court (STF) is due to resume this Wednesday (23) the trial of the process known as “review of life”, which asks the part of retirees of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) the right to redo the calculation of the value of their benefits considering contributions prior to 1994.

The court had already judged the issue and formed a majority in favor of retirees in February, in a score of 6 x 5, but the judgment was suspended after Minister Kassio Nunes Marques made a request for alteration.

Appointed to the STF by President Jair Bolsonaro, Marques asked, in the last minutes before the deadline for analysis, that the judgment made in the virtual plenary be restarted in the physical plenary. Until the conclusion of the new round, to be resumed this Wednesday, ministers may change their vote.

INSS calculations estimate that, if approved, the revision could generate a bill of R$ 46 billion for the government coffers in ten years, since, for this portion of retirees, it entitles to a higher benefit, in addition to the payment retroactive values.

Studies and lawyers in the area, however, dispute the amount, claiming that it covers a much larger number of beneficiaries who, in fact, would be entitled to receive more.

“A group of retired accountants carried out a study, based on INSS data, and calculated that the value of this action in ten years would be between R$ 4.5 billion and R$ 8 billion”, says social security lawyer João Badari, partner from the Aith, Badari and Luchin office.

What is it and who is entitled

The “whole life review” asks part of retirees to have the right to include contributions paid to the INSS before 1994, when the Real Plan began, in the calculation of the amount of their benefit.

According to experts, it is a request that compensates for those who received higher wages before this date, which increases the amount of retirement that the worker is entitled to receive.

For those who received less, the action is not worth it, and the pension currently received is greater than with the inclusion of the older amounts.

The process is valid only for those who retired after 1999, when a social security reform changed the rules and established the 1994 cutoff for calculating benefits.

“It is valid for those who retired by law 9,876 [de 1999]”, explains Badari. “It does not apply to those who retired before 1999, and after the Social Security reform [de 2019]because then the new rules apply.”

need for action

If the STF approves the right to a lifetime review, the review and refund of amounts is not automatic. Those who have legal action asking for the calculation change will be entitled to it.

Anyone who fits the criteria of the law and has not yet filed a lawsuit can go to court making the request after the STF judgment has concluded – but, explains Badari, he will only be entitled to review if the court does not modulate the decision, that is, it does not decide that it will only apply to those who already had an open case before the trial.

The lawyer also explains that, for everyone who retired more than ten years ago and have not filed the lawsuit since then, the deadline for the claim has already expired and they no longer have the right to ask for or receive the review.

For those who have open action, even if retired for more than ten years, the deadline is still valid.

If the STF grants victory to retirees, beneficiaries are entitled both to have the retirement amount revised and increased, if applicable, as well as to receive retroactive payment of the difference for all past months in which they received less. In this case, the amount to be refunded must be returned up to a maximum of five years prior to the filing date.