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Anyone who is close to retiring needs to keep up with changes in Social Security rules. The pension reform, enacted in 2019, established automatic transition rules that undergo annual adjustments and change the criteria for granting benefits. In 2026, new requirements will come into effect for different types of retirement.
INSS retirement rules change in 2026; see who can retire this year/Photo: Reproduction
The changes mainly affect retirement based on contribution time, teachers and minimum age rules. The information is contained in guidelines from the National Social Security Institute (INSS) and was gathered by Agência Brasil.
The reform created four transition rules. Two of them had changes at the turn of 2025 to 2026. In the points rule — which considers the sum of age and contribution time — the minimum score is now 93 points for women and 103 points for men.
In the case of public servants, the score is the same, but there are additional requirements: minimum age of 62 years and 35 years of contribution for men, and 57 years of age with 30 years of contribution for women. For both, it is also necessary to prove 20 years of public service and five years in office.
Another transition rule provides for a reduced minimum age for those who have been contributing for a long time. In 2026, the minimum age will be 59 and a half for women and 64 and a half for men. Each year, this limit increases by six months, until reaching 62 years for women and 65 years for men in 2031. The minimum contribution time remains at 30 years for women and 35 years for men.
Teachers follow a specific transition rule, which combines a minimum age with time of contribution to teaching. In 2026, women can retire at age 54 and a half, and men at age 59 and a half. The minimum age increases six months a year, until it reaches 57 years for women and 60 years for men in 2031.
The minimum contribution time required is 25 years for women and 30 years for men. This rule applies to teachers in the private sector, federal educational institutions and small municipalities. State and large municipal teachers follow the rules of their own pension schemes.
The age retirement rule has been fully in force since 2023. For men, the minimum age is 65 years old. For women, the limit is 62 years old, after the transition started in 2019. For both sexes, the minimum contribution time required is 15 years.
When the reform was enacted, the minimum age for women was 60 years old, with a gradual increase of six months per year until reaching 62 years old in 2023.
INSS provides tools for simulating retirement, both on your computer and on your cell phone. Through the website meu.inss.gov.br or the Meu INSS application, the insured can access the “Simulate Retirement” option and check age, contribution time and how much time is left until retirement under each current rule. It is also possible to correct registration data and download the result in PDF format.
Some transition rules have already been fully complied with and no longer apply. This is the case of the 100% toll in the private sector, which required compliance with twice the time left to retire in 2019. In the public service, this rule was also ended, maintaining only the additional criteria of time in public service and in the position.
Another rule, the 50% toll for private sector workers who were up to two years away from retirement in 2019, also ceased to be valid. All policyholders covered by this condition have already retired by the end of 2022, and there will be no new beneficiaries in 2026.
