Paying debt in arrears is the main destination of the 13th salary, survey shows

The 13th salary of more than three quarters (77%) of delinquent consumers has a certain destination: payment of debts. Of those, 35% said the extra money would be used to pay their credit or store cards. ​The data are part of a survey carried out electronically in November by the credit recovery company Intervalor, with 383 defaulters across the country.

Less than half of those interviewed (45%) are entitled to the 13th grade, which is paid to workers with a formal contract. Most defaulters interviewed in the survey (55%) are self-employed, small business owners or unemployed. Even so, three quarters of the sample (75%) declare themselves as the main financial responsible for their family nucleus.

“The percentage of interviewees who will receive the benefit is less than 50% and this number makes evident the crisis that Brazil is going through”, says Felipe Santos, Intervalor’s operations director.

The second installment of the 13th will be paid to workers with a formal contract until December 20th. The first part has already been deposited – by law, the money has to be placed in the worker’s account by November 30th. In the second installment, the money arrives with deductions from the contribution to the INSS and the Income Tax, if the worker is not exempt. The federal government anticipated the installments of the 13th of the INSS (National Social Security Institute) and, for the second year in a row, retirees will not have the extra money in the second semester.

Among the participants who receive the 13th grade and have overdue bills, 23% said they want to use the money to settle outstanding consumption bills, such as water and electricity, 19% intend to pay off other debts, 7% will pay bank loans, 5% will pay For vehicle financing, 5% will pay off the rent, 3% intend to pay back money borrowed from relatives or friends, while 3% will pay school or university tuition.

The 13th salary was always eagerly awaited for extra expenses typical of the end of the year, such as parties, gifts and travel, or even the renovation of the house or the exchange of a car. But in times of high inflation and technical recession, as pointed out by the 0.1% drop in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the third quarter, the use of income to pay off recurring accounts in arrears – such as rent, financing of the vehicle and school fees.

In the opinion of Felipe Santos, the fact that consumers incorporate the card as part of their income is worrying. “In addition to bearing the high interest rate on the revolving system, one of the most expensive rates in the world, whoever is eventually unable to pay this debt loses access to the credit line,” he says.

“It’s a big trap,” he says, noting that, even when automatic installment payment is triggered (after two partially paid invoices), interest is charged. He says that it is not a question of abandoning the credit card, but it is necessary to use it within the limits of each person’s income.

Forecasts for the economy in 2022 are bleak, Santos recalls. In addition to the technical recession, Brazil (and the world) still face the pandemic and its variants, part of the companies curb investments in an election year and the increase in the Selic rate, as announced this Wednesday (8) by the Central Bank, makes the most expensive future loans.

“The possibility of an increase in unemployment is real and people need to be increasingly aware of their financial planning”, he says.