The president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), scheduled the vote for Tuesday on the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) that creates a special retirement for community health workers and agents fighting endemic diseases.
Calculations by the Ministry of Social Security indicate that the measure could generate an impact of around R$30 billion in ten years.
The vote comes amid a series of defeats imposed by Congress on the economic team in recent weeks. Under Alcolumbre’s leadership, the Senate approved projects with a high fiscal impact, such as the renegotiation of rural producers’ debts, an increase in the minimum wage for doctors and a special pension for nurses.
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The proposal had already been announced by Alcolumbre as a priority. The text was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in October last year and received approval from the Senate’s Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) on the 10th.
Senators in favor of the matter articulated a special calendar to conclude the two rounds of voting on the same day, shortening the procedure normally required for proposed amendments to the Constitution.
When announcing that he would take the matter to the plenary, Alcolumbre stated that he could not be “the only villain” responsible for preventing the processing of projects with fiscal impact.
— The president of the Federal Senate cannot prevent this matter from being processed. I will not be the only one responsible for blocking proposals that have the support of this House — he stated, during a plenary session this month.
Billionaire impact
According to estimates presented by the Ministries of Finance, Planning and Social Security, the PEC increases the financial insufficiency of social security systems by around R$3 billion per year. The accumulated impact is estimated at approximately R$30 billion, although the National Confederation of Municipalities maintains that the cost could reach R$69 billion.
According to the text, community health workers and agents fighting endemic diseases will be entitled to special retirement. The minimum age will be 57 years for women and 60 years for men, as long as 25 years of contribution and activity have been completed.
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For those already in their career, the proposal establishes transition rules that allow retirement at a lower age until 2041. The PEC also extends the benefit to indigenous health agents and indigenous sanitation agents.
The government argues that the proposal creates a new exception to the rules of the 2019 Pension Reform and increases the pressure on public accounts at a time of search for fiscal balance. Despite resistance from the economic team, the expectation of Senate leaders is that the proposal will be approved with a wide margin, repeating the score obtained in the Chamber.
