Excessive salaries in the Judiciary cost R$ 10,5 billion per year, according to a survey.
A survey indicates a 49,3% increase in the net income of judges, driven by benefits that circumvent the constitutional salary cap.
247 - The so-called "super salaries" paid to magistrates in Brazil grew by 49,3% in 2023, costing the public coffers R$ 10,5 billion. This data is part of a survey by... People Ahead Movement In partnership with researcher Bruno Carazza, from the Dom Cabral Foundation. The increase, which is almost ten times the official inflation rate for the period (4,83%), reveals, according to the authors, a "race beyond the ceiling" in the Judiciary. The information is from the newspaper. The Globe.
According to the study, most of the growth in net income for judges is due to the payment of allowances and benefits classified as compensation—the so-called "perks." These amounts, because they are not treated as official remuneration, are exempt from income tax and allow judges to exceed the constitutional ceiling of R$ 46.366,19, the amount corresponding to the salary of the ministers of the Supreme Federal Court (STF).
Although they affect a limited number of civil servants—approximately 0,06% of public employees—super salaries are widely prevalent among members of the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office. According to data from the 2023 PNAD Contínua survey by IBGE, 93% of judges and 91,5% of prosecutors and public attorneys were in this high-income bracket.
The study also warns of risks in the processing of the administrative reform under discussion in the Chamber of Deputies. The organization states that the current proposal from the working group, coordinated by Deputy Pedro Paulo (PSD-RJ), could legitimize the perks by maintaining 32 exceptions to the salary cap — 14 of them with a direct impact on earnings. Among the listed items are vacation pay, bonuses for accumulated functions, food allowance, and health allowance, with an estimated fiscal impact of R$ 3,4 billion per year.
In addition to the Judiciary, the study also aimed to analyze the income of the Public Prosecutor's Office. However, according to the authors, the investigation was hampered by the "unavailability and low quality of public data relating to the body," which prevented a complete analysis of expenditures.
