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The Supreme Federal Court (STF) this Thursday (27) is appealing the ruling that could change the form of the Separation Guarantee Fund (FGTS) correction.
Analysis of the measure stalled last week after votes by ministers Luis Roberto Barroso, rapporteur, and André Mendonca, who understood that values could not be adjusted below savings (Understand more below).
Introduced by Solidariedade in 2014, the procedure calls into question the current model of readjustment of amounts deposited into the fund, which today is offset on a reference rate (TR) basis.
According to the applicable rules, the FGTS has an income equal to the value of TR plus 3% per annum. TR is currently 0.32% per month, but the indicator can change, as it is made up of a series of variables. Already the savings currently amount to a bonus of 6.17% per annum.
According to the party, the TR “cannot be used for monetary re-statement purposes because it does not reflect the Brazilian inflation process.” In addition, the acronym notes that TR has not been able to keep up with indices that measure inflation in Brazil, causing “a lag that gets worse over time” for workers.
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It also states that the new rule will only be valid for filings made after the trial transcript has been published, without retroactive payments.
The minister said, “When you allocate the money of a worker, without paying him a proper wage, to achieve public ends, you have simply turned the worker into a means.”
The vote was accompanied by Minister Andrés Mendonça. The others have yet to present their positions at trial.
Lawsuits
The Workers’ Guarantee Fund Institute (IFGT) says more than 200,000 procedures have been suspended pending a Workers’ Guarantee Fund ruling.
The AGU’s public defender told the STF that the impact of the ruling amounted to R$661 billion, with about R$118 billion available in cash for the fund. The Public Prosecutor of the National Treasury (PGFN) speaks of an impact of R$400 billion.
“The difference between the potential impact on FGTS (R$661 billion) and shareholder equity could result in the need for a contribution from the federation of around R$543 billion,” says AGU.
What is FGTS and how does it work?
FGTS was established in 1996 and is the right of all contract workers. Each month, employers are required to deposit 8% of employees’ salaries into this reserve.
Deposits can only be withdrawn under specific conditions, such as buying a home or retiring. While it is not withdrawn, the amount is deposited in Caixa Econômica and has an income based on the following rule: the sum of the value of the reference rate (TR) plus 3% per annum.
This return, in general, ends up being less than the inflation measured over the 12-month period and the annual return on savings.
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