Cash advances from BRL 500 of the FGTS birthday withdrawal

As of this Tuesday (28), the worker with at least R$ 500 in the FGTS (Guarantee Fund for Time of Service) who has opted for the withdrawal-birthday can make a loan of the same amount or more through the line of credit that anticipates the annual payment and uses money from the customer’s fund as collateral.

Until then, the minimum loan amount was R$2,000. Up to three advance withdrawals are allowed. The request is made directly on the Caixa Tem application and, for this, the worker must have a record and authorize the bank to offer the loan.

The monthly interest is 1.49% and the credit line does not require customer evaluation, allowing access even for those with some type of restriction in their name. The more years the worker anticipates, the more interest he will pay.

According to Caixa, if the client chooses to receive three years of the withdrawal-birthday, the debt for each anticipated period will be paid in the month of the anniversary following the contract date. Thus, an October-born worker who hires the advance in January 2022, for three years, will have the first installment of the loan paid in October, with interest from January to October 2022. The next payments will be in October 2023 and 2024, with the respective interest periods.

To find out how much you can lend and the total interest on the loan, you must first calculate the value of the withdrawal-birthday, which varies according to the balance in the fund. For some tracks there is also an additional fixed portion.

For example: whoever has BRL 2,000 can withdraw 30% of this amount (BRL 600) plus a fixed installment of BRL 150, totaling BRL 750. If the balance is BRL 8,000, the percentage is 20% (BRL $1,600) plus the additional BRL 650, which gives BRL 2,250.

Once the value of the portion to which the worker is entitled is calculated, simply multiply by the number of withdrawals he or she wishes to anticipate (one, two or three). The total interest varies according to the number of months between taking out the loan and the anniversary, each year, which is when the credit will start to pay off.

The anniversary withdrawal was created in 2019 and makes it possible to withdraw a part of the fund once a year, in the anniversary month. Workers who opt for this modality are not entitled to withdraw their entire FGTS balance if they are dismissed and must wait for their birthday again. The payment of the 40% fine due on unfair dismissal is maintained.

The loan amount, less interest, will be available in the customer’s account on the business day following the contracting date. When the month of the worker’s birthday arrives, the withdrawal money automatically goes to the bank to pay off the debt.

The anticipation of the anniversary withdrawal is a loan with interest from the bank, therefore its contracting should be evaluated more carefully.

“The ideal is not to use it”, says financial educator Cintia Senna. “With the anticipation, in addition to spending FGTS money, the client pays interest on something that already belongs to him.”

The educator says that it is important to remember that the service is not a withdrawal from the balance, but a loan that uses the FGTS as a guarantee. The 1.49% rate can be cheap when compared to other types of credit, but considering the bank’s guarantee, it should be even lower, according to Senna.

Before using this resource, you need to think about your own financial situation. Unemployment, maintenance of basic needs or payment of a debt whose interest is even higher are scenarios that may require this line.

Year-end expenses, on the other hand, should be part of the family budget and not be made through a loan.

“This credit line is a possible way out, as long as it is used with the awareness that the resource will be used for a certain period of time and an action plan will be needed after that”, says Senna.