Changes to military pensions have been postponed until 2017, says minister.

Mariana Branco – Reporter for Agência Brasil

Defense Minister Raul Jungmann said today (8) that a supplementary bill with changes to the pension rules for the military is already under discussion and should be sent to the Civil House between January and February 2017. Asked what would be open to negotiation, the minister said that “everything is on the table”, including increasing contributions and length of service.

He stated that a ban on the accumulation of pension and retirement benefits, as foreseen in Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) 287, sent to the National Congress this week, is also not ruled out. The project alters the rules for private sector workers and public servants. "This accumulation will be duly regulated and defined in complementary law," he declared.

According to him, the military does not want privileges. “We don't want any privileges, only that the specificities be recognized. Everything is on the table. Nothing is excluded from the agenda,” stated Jungmann. The minister also denied that the military's contribution to the Social Security deficit is R$ 32,44 billion, as has been reported in the press. Raul Jungmann attributed the dissemination of that figure to an “accounting mix-up.”

According to him, the National Social Security Institute (INSS) only covers pensions paid to dependents of military personnel, which in 2016 amounted to R$ 16,55 billion. Since military personnel contribute 7,5% of their gross salary to these benefits, the burden on the INSS would fall to R$ 13,85 billion. As for the salaries of retired personnel, Jungmann says, these are paid by the Ministry of Defense itself.

According to him, this occurs because the military is not covered by any pension scheme, but rather by a social protection system funded by the National Treasury. The resources for the payment of active and retired military personnel came from this system, totaling R$ 20,23 billion and R$ 18,59 billion, respectively, in 2016. These amounts were already legally allocated to the ministry's budget.

"We are the ones who pay for our retirees. In other words, our retirees do not put pressure on Social Security. This is accounted for in Social Security due to an obvious accounting error, which is being corrected in the Union's balance sheet," he declared.

Singularities

The minister cited, however, unique aspects of the military career that, in his view, need to be taken into account in the formulation of the supplementary bill for the reform. Among them are the availability for deployment within the national and international territory at any time, the non-payment of overtime, and the prohibition of unionization and holding a second job.

Raul Jungmann emphasized that a reform carried out in 2001 introduced a reduction factor in the value of military pensions and ended benefits such as pension payments to unmarried daughters. "What remains now are only those who are still alive," he stated. The minister also said that the military currently has the lowest salary among state careers.

According to Jungmann, the cost of military personnel payroll has been falling. According to Defense Ministry figures, in 2003 personnel expenses were equivalent to 1,17% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the sum of the wealth produced in a country. In 2015, they fell to 0,87%.

The reason, according to Jungmann, is the increased hiring of military personnel under the temporary contract model. "Temporary military personnel have eight-year contracts. Today, almost 70% of the Army's personnel are temporary soldiers. They often cost much less than permanent military personnel," said the minister.