Judges and judges at the TJ-SP (Court of Justice of ) received an average remuneration of R$ 132 thousand in March this year, one month after the injunction issued by the minister of the (Federal Supreme Court) which gave a period of 60 days to suspend the payment of penduricalhos.
In the decision, dated February 6, for all bodies to review funds paid and suspend those without legal basis. Only compensation installments already provided for by law could be outside the ceiling.
On February 26, the STF minister recognized administratively and already scheduled for the period.
In March, they had the biggest paycheck of the year so far, surpassing the months of January, February and April, according to information from the court’s transparency portal.
In a note, the TJ-SP stated that there was no payment of retroactive funds in the month and that the STF’s decision would be valid for May’s remuneration. The TJ-SP did not comment on the fact that magistrates’ salaries are driven by “occasional advantages”, which usually refer to retroactive payments.
The CNJ (National Council of Justice) stated, in a note, that the Supreme Court’s decision on the remuneration of magistrates began to be applied by the courts in paychecks for the month of May, after a period of 60 days.
When contacted, the STF stated that it does not comment on specific situations or initiatives that may eventually be the subject of future judicial analysis by the court.
According to Bruno Carazza, professor at Fundação Dom Cabral, it is likely that the STF’s decision has led to an acceleration in payment in March.
“The dynamics of the STF’s decision, with prior scheduling, postponement of the decision and deadline for entry into force, created a window for courts and MP bodies to grant their members the payment of arrears and other extra-extra benefits.”
Courts of Justice and the Public Ministry in at least eight states regulated or discussed creating penduricalhos after the STF decision. According to the bodies, these additional payments are supported by the court’s thesis — an effort to interpret the decisions in order to maintain the additional payments.
In the court of , the highest amount was given to a judge, who received R$226,000 in March. The figure was boosted by the payment of R$191 thousand in “occasional benefits” – which, in general, refer to retroactive funds.
At least 2,536 magistrates received some amount above the ceiling in March, equivalent to 94% of the total number of judges and judges in the São Paulo court, according to data from .
In April, the figure received by TJ-SP magistrates was the lowest of the year so far, but still exceeded the constitutional ceiling (R$46,300). That month, magistrates had an average salary of R$90,000. The STF’s thesis to limit super salaries was determined at the end of March.
By way of comparison, in March 2025, the salary for members of the São Paulo court was, on average, R$127 thousand. The average income was the same in the following month, in April 2025. In practice, this year, the salary of magistrates in March grew by 4% compared to last year, while it fell by 29% in April.
In January, the average amount received by São Paulo magistrates was R$111 thousand. In February, it was R$106 thousand.
Retroactive funds are what fatten the paychecks of judges and judges, known as “puxadinhos”. These include compensation for unused vacations, as well as additional payments for length of service or accumulation of duties.
In the decision that suspended the penduricalhos in February, Minister Flávio Dino stated that there was a variety of unprecedented compensation in the country, such as bonuses for the accumulation of processes, vacations and duties.
Although the figures are not expressly provided for by law, a large part of these additional payments are authorized by administrative acts from the courts or the CNJ itself, which is one of the main challenges in controlling the payment of penduricalhos.
Furthermore, in April, the CNJ regulated the limit of restrictions on members of the Judiciary. However, the document recreated a series of benefits that had been extinguished in the STF’s thesis.
Part of the installments were replaced by other funds of the same name in the joint resolution with the CNMP (National Council of the Public Ministry). Pre-school care, for example, has become a “bonus for the protection of early childhood and motherhood.”
In a note, the CNJ stated that the joint resolution with the CNMP was published on April 9 and did not serve as a basis for generating payrolls for April or March. In April, the CNJ instructed the courts to follow the March payroll pattern, due to a lack of time to make adjustments.
Contacted by email since the 14th, the CNMP did not respond to the report.
Due to the proliferation of penduricalhos even after the STF’s thesis, ministers Dino, Gilmar, and issued a warning in orders that the creation and payment of penduricalhos that are not authorized by the court’s thesis on super salary are “absolutely prohibited”.
According to Cristiano Pavini, project coordinator at Transparência Brasil, data on super salaries as of March are incomplete, which affects monitoring of the effects of the STF decision.
“The CNJ remuneration panel is facing an unusual incompleteness as of March, which is precisely the month following the Supreme Court’s first injunction,” said the coordinator. “It is up to the CNJ to charge the courts to send this data.”
According to the CNJ, before the STF’s decision, the courts were already providing information to the CNJ’s National Justice Inspectorate, with the publication of the data. The council also states that the Internal Affairs Department maintains supervision and monitoring of the courts’ remuneration system.
