Before applying for retirement, there is a simulation that can make a difference in the amount you will receive every month. Social Security has updated the official pension simulator and the tool now allows you to compare, in a simpler way, various scenarios, including early retirement, personal retirement age and legal retirement age.
According to , a website specializing in these matters, the update is especially useful for those who have mixed contributory careers or periods of work in different social protection regimes. The objective is to allow a more integrated estimate of the citizen’s career and help plan their exit from the job market with less uncertainty.
The right age may not be the same for everyone
The legal retirement age is the best-known reference, but it is not the only date that counts. In some cases, the employee’s contribution career may allow for a different personal retirement age. This age takes into account each person’s contribution history and can be decisive in understanding whether it is possible to request the pension earlier without penalties.
This is precisely where the simulator can be useful. Instead of just showing a date, the tool now allows you to compare scenarios and understand the impact of each decision on the value of retirement.
Early retirement may have cuts
Requesting retirement early may seem like an attractive solution, especially for those who already have many years of contributions or intend to leave the job market early. But advance payment may result in fines on the monthly retirement amount.
The simulator allows you to see this impact before proceeding with the order. The tool shows the estimated value of the pension in case of early retirement and allows you to compare it with the value predicted at personal age or legal retirement age.
In practice, citizens can understand whether leaving early is worth it or whether waiting longer can avoid relevant cuts.
What changed in the simulator
The main novelty is the greater integration of different contributory schemes. With this update, it will now be possible to manually enter periods of work completed in other social protection schemes, in addition to Social Security. This resource is important for those who have had a less linear career, with experience in different systems or different professional situations.
According to Economy and Finance, this change prevents the user from having to carry out several separate simulations to reach an estimate closer to their reality.
More scenarios at the same time
Another relevant change is the automatic presentation of several comparative scenarios. The simulator now shows, more clearly, hypotheses such as early pension, pension at personal retirement age and pension at legal retirement age. This makes it easier to compare dates, values and consequences.
This difference can be important because the decision to retire is not limited to the question “when can I leave?”. The central question should also be “how much will I receive if I leave on that date?”.
It also allows you to test the postponement of reform
The simulator already made it possible to evaluate the impact of postponing the retirement request beyond the legal age. This scenario can generate bonuses in the retirement amount, depending on the contributory career and the applicable rules. For those who are able to continue working for a while longer, this simulation can show whether the postponement represents a financial advantage.
The tool also allows you to test situations in which a person stops working before claiming a pension. In this case, it is important to understand that there may be a period without salary or retirement, which will have to be funded by savings or other income.
How the simulation works
The simulator uses known and declared data from each citizen’s contribution career. For the years remaining until retirement, it uses assumptions and estimates. Therefore, the values presented should be seen as a forecast, not as a definitive decision by the INSS.
In automatic mode, the tool uses the information already registered in the system. In manual mode, the user can adjust parameters, insert additional contribution periods and test different hypotheses.
Where to find the simulator
The Pension Simulator is available at Previdência Direta (you can download it). To access, you must enter your personal credentials and select the “Simulators” menu. The tool allows you to calculate estimates for retirement due to age and also for retirement due to disability.
Then, the user can consult the scenarios presented and change data to understand how different decisions may affect the future pension.
Attention before making a decision
Despite being an official tool, the simulator does not replace the INSS’s final decision. Values may change if there are future changes in contribution career, remuneration, legislation or recorded data. There may also be specific situations that require individual analysis.
Therefore, before requesting early retirement, postponing leaving or stopping working before retirement age, it may be prudent to confirm the information with the INSS or seek specialized support.
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