Retirees prepare for the second end of the year without the 13th

For the second year in a row, INSS (National Social Security Institute) retirees and pensioners will not receive the 13th salary at the end of the year, when, traditionally, the allowance is paid to Social Security beneficiaries and active workers.

In 2020, to mitigate the effects of the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the federal government decided to bring forward the payment of the 13th salary for the first semester. This year, the economic team repeated the measure, releasing the two installments of the allowance between the months of May and July (according to the final number of the benefit).

With the change, policyholders will once again be without the extra money to cover the end and beginning of the year expenses. Retired Cristiane Soares Tenca de Souza, 56, says that she was unable to keep the money for the 13th that she received in the middle of the year. “The situation is very tight. The bills have increased a lot”, he laments.

The way, he adds, will be to save on the holiday season. “We’re going to have to tighten our belts more. Christmas, for example, will be simpler. And turkey is just a dream, it’s so expensive.”

“If I had a choice, I would always choose to receive at the end of the year. In the middle of the year we spend and don’t even see it”, says retired Odi Abreu, 67, who lives in the north of the city of São Paulo. “I hope everything goes back to normal next year,” she says.

For retiree Wilson Bernardes de Souza, 65, the way to supplement his income was to do odd jobs in the civil construction area. “If I didn’t do these odd jobs, the situation would be much tighter now at the end of the year,” he says.

Another retiree who will have to do extra work to cover the lack of money that the bonus would bring is Waldir Francisco da Silva, 65. “The ideal would be if, during this period of pandemic, at least the government released the 14th salary”, says , about a project that is being processed in the Chamber.

14th salary project advances in the Chamber

A bill that provides for the payment of a 14th salary to INSS beneficiaries on an experimental basis is being processed in the Chamber of Deputies.

The proposal was created to minimize the financial impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. If the matter is approved, the installments will be paid in March 2022 and 2023, limited to up to two minimum wages (R$ 2,200 this year). Last Wednesday (24), the text passed the Finance and Taxation Committee of the Chamber.

Now, the text will be examined by the Committee on Constitution and Justice and Citizenship, the last to carry out the assessment.

If approved by this committee, the bill goes straight to the Senate. From there, if endorsed by the senators, it will be sanctioned by President Jair Bolsonaro.

The original project, by deputy Pompeo de Mattos (PDT-RS), provided for the 14th for retirees and pensioners of the RGPS (General Social Security Regime) in the years 2020 and 2021.

During the process, the proposal was attached to another bill, by deputy Aureo Ribeiro (SD-RJ), which proposed the payment of the 14th by 2023. Another change was the inclusion of the 14th for people who receive sick pay and accident aid . The original project provided for the allowance only for retirees and pensioners.

End of year without 13th | situation repeats itself

• As happened last year, the federal government decided to bring forward the 13th salary of INSS (National Social Security Institute) retirees and pensioners because of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy
• This year, the beneficiaries received the two installments of the allowance between the months of May and July, according to the final benefit number
• Thus, INSS retirees and pensioners will be for the second consecutive year without the extra money of the 13th to cover the end of the year expenses

how is it next year

• The Ministry of Economy has not yet indicated whether it intends to bring the 13th installment forward again next year or whether it will return to paying the bonus on the conventional dates, with the second installment being deposited from November

14th salary project

• A bill that provides for the payment of a 14th salary for INSS beneficiaries until 2023 is being processed in Congress.
• The bill was approved by the Chamber’s Finance Committee and reached the Constitution and Justice Committee last week, but there is still no date to be voted on.
• If approved by this committee, it goes straight to the Senate and, if it passes, it goes to presidential approval
• The proposal provides that the installments will be paid in March 2022 and 2023, limited to up to two minimum wages