If there is one thing to say about the thievery, it is that it was broad and unrestricted. Even retired workers worth billions of reais were diverted through fraudulent schemes involving managers and directors of financial institutions, combined with the collusion of public agents.
Recently, the progress of investigations revealed that the hole is even deeper: data from the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) and the Ministry of Social Security indicate that they had invested money in Master. The scheme repeats the extinct pattern in which money saved by people after decades of public service was invested in fraudulent or risky operations. Among the affected entities, Rioprevidência, the pension fund for public servants in the State of Rio de Janeiro, would have contributed almost R$1 billion which, if history repeats itself, will never be seen again.
Although it published on its website an “official note” in November last year and from the Ministry of Social Security that would demonstrate the “commitment of management” to modern and effective practices, on the date of this column the same fund did not publish any minutes of its board of directors. observed are suspended as per court order”.
Illustrative of the government’s disregard for the sector, the examples highlight the insufficiency of transparency in the management of pension funds. Reports, when they exist, are written in obscure and incomprehensible language. Minutes of collegiate meetings, often prepared by people without qualifications or effective commitment, tend to be generic and abstract, when available.
In short, it seems clear that public control and transparency in the management of Brazilians need to be improved urgently. Although the legislation has evolved a little since the Greenfield scandals in 2016, it still allows the appointment of people with political party or even family ties to the governing bodies of pension funds. The absence of minimum standards in the disclosure of information makes control and comparison between entities difficult or impossible.
In addition to regulatory improvements, it is necessary to strengthen the bodies responsible for monitoring and supervising this sector, which, among other problems, has a tiny workforce. Management reports from the National Supplementary Pension Superintendency (Previc) reported that, in 2024, the entity had only 215 employees, of which 59% worked in the supervision of pension funds. The CVM includes even general service assistants in this account.
There is no point doing the same thing and expecting different results. Considering that the country’s demographic pyramid has an increasingly smaller base, preventing fraud like Master’s is crucial to avoid an even more unequal future and with more burden on the treasury.
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