90% of MP salaries exceed R$ 100 thousand and at TJ the judge earned R$ 287 thousand

In the payroll of the Public Ministry of Rio (MPRJ) from November last year, of the 892 attorneys and prosecutors listed, 791 — equivalent to 88.6% of the total — received more than R$100 thousand net. And there’s more: 65 of them had salaries above R$150 thousand. At the top, three had more than R$200,000 deposited into the account.

This is not an atypical month. In October, the percentage of those who earned above the R$100,000 level was 93.2%, and in September 91%. In the most recent paycheck available on the agency’s transparency portal, from December, it is 90%.

This month, the values ​​are even higher, boosted by Christmas bonuses: 101 magistrates earned more than R$200,000. In common, they all have salaries between R$37,000 and R$41,000 gross, below the constitutional ceiling that cannot contain the rage of penduricalhos.

The situation observed in the MPRJ is far from being an isolated case in Rio. It reflects the impact of bonuses and indemnities incorporated into the remuneration of civil servants of all powers and which are not included in the calculation of the constitutional ceiling — R$ 46,366.19 gross monthly, the salary of a minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF).

The highest salary found by GLOBO in research on transparency portals was that of a judge at the Rio Court of Justice who received R$ 287,189.87 net in November 2025. The paycheck shows R$ 266,311.05 in “occasional benefits” which can include anything from nighttime bonuses and vacation bonuses to education allowance, among others.

On these pages, in fact, the task of extracting the benefits paid is ungrateful. The bodies’ option is to quote the expenses in a generic way, so that under the heading “compensations”, in the case of the TJ, for example, it is also not known what is actually being passed on to each employee. It can range from daycare assistance to transportation assistance and six other items. The Court’s November sheet shows 464 members and employees with a net income above the ceiling. Of these, seven received more than R$100,000.

Compensated time off

A survey carried out by Transparência Brasil identified, based on data made available by the National Council of Justice (CNJ), payments made by the Court of Justice of Rio in the order of R$ 100,526,735.93, in 2025, as “gratification for cumulative exercise”.

According to the entity’s technicians, this bonus, which was established in federal law, may include compensation worth one day’s salary for every three days worked under accumulation, which would be subject to the limits of the constitutional ceiling. What happens is that the mechanism was transformed into compensatory leave and started to be counted as pecuniary remuneration related to the day off, being paid as compensation (outside the ceiling) when not taken by employees, which is very common.

— What we often see in public administration, especially in the Justice system, is a race for more trinkets. We see a movement that is spreading around these privileges, generating a cascade effect on public administration — explains Juliana Sakai, executive director of Transparência Brasil.

The type of compensation for time off was one of the targets of the decision taken by Minister Flávio Dino, of the STF, at the beginning of February, which determined the suspension and review, within 60 days, of public service suspensions not provided for by law throughout the country. The matter will still be deliberated by the Supreme Court plenary. In a discussion on the topic at the Court last week, Dino even cited the MPRJ:

— News arrives all the time in this interconnected world about new payments. Just now I heard that the eminent Attorney General of Rio de Janeiro is considering new payments — said the minister, adding, in a critical tone, that the National Council of Justice (CNJ) and the National Council of the Public Ministry (CNMP) will have “a lot of work” to monitor and block such initiatives, which often seek to circumvent the constitutional ceiling.

Research by Transparência Brasil released in the past shows that, in 2024, all members of the MPRJ received salaries above the constitutional ceiling, which at the time was set at just over R$44 thousand.

The case of a retired prosecutor is exemplary. The net amount paid as inactive in November 2025 was R$108,049.94, with R$76,828.18 in compensation and zero retention due to the ceiling. This employee also holds a position of trust, identified as “Assistant 2 – A4” at the agency and has a second paycheck, which states the net gain of R$51,284.38 in the same month. The calculation includes another compensation amount of R$44,844.41. The two salaries total R$ 159,334.32.

Unconstitutionality

Specialist in public finances, economist André Luiz Marques, professor at Insper, says that some frills, even supported by laws, could be suppressed if the legislation were considered unconstitutional:

— To do this, it would be necessary to argue that the laws were unconstitutional. But there must be a lot of discussion before any initiative is taken. And some of the servers are well organized, which can lead to strikes.

The state’s 2026 Annual Budget Law Project (Ploa), approved by Alerj, shows that the Court of Justice is the one that must spend the most this year on personnel and charges: 97.7% of its budget, or R$5.49 billion of R$5.62 billion. The state Finance Department estimates spending 87% on its civil servants (R$667 million of R$775 million). In the case of the State Attorney General’s Office (PGE), the share is 81% (R$548 million of R$671 million). And from the Public Defender’s Office, 80% (R$1.35 billion of R$1.69 billion).

Among the benefits mentioned on the bodies’ portals, there are those that are fixed and detailed and which, like the others, contribute to fattening the pockets of part of the civil servants. This is the case with the Rio City Council’s Christmas food aid, nicknamed “peru voucher”. R$1,739.29 were paid in December. At the State Audit Court (TCE-RJ), the meal voucher is R$158 per working day. The Public Defender’s Office even has book vouchers, which are little used by employees: expenditure did not reach R$17,000 last year. In terms of salaries above the ceiling, a defender received, in September, R$76,847.39 net. This paycheck contained compensation and occasional benefits of more than R$55,000.

Language classes

In Alerj, there is housing assistance, paid to 14 deputies who are from other municipalities. In 2022 — the most recent data available — the value was R$3,189.75. Among the benefits for those who work at the Assembly are free courses offered by the Legislative School, including languages. This semester there are advanced English and Spanish classes.

In the state government, an assistant prosecutor with a basic salary of R$14,700 received, in January, R$49,900 net. The salary was boosted by trinkets as bonuses. At city hall, a prosecutor had a basic salary of R$8,700 in the same month. Plus compensation, bonuses and jeton, the amount was R$ 90 thousand gross. After applying the cap retention and other discounts, the net value was slightly above the limit: R$46.5 thousand.

The MPRJ said that “the institution’s administrative practices and routines, particularly with regard to public expenditure, are guided by absolute compliance with legality, always under the strict supervision of local and national external control bodies”. The TJRJ reported that “all payments made to members of the Judiciary of Rio de Janeiro have strict legal protection”.

The Defender’s Office stated that “so far, there is no indication that the decision (of the STF) has a direct impact on” the institution. The City Council highlighted that “it already complies with the constitutional norm” and, in relation to Christmas food assistance, that “it follows the administrative procedure of various public bodies and also Christmas compensation existing in the private sector”. The municipal Legislature also said that the aid “has legal justification and is on the list of compensations that will be reported to the STF”.

The TCE-RJ reaffirmed “its permanent commitment to legality, transparency and fiscal responsibility”. The state government guaranteed that, after Dino’s decision, “it initiated an administrative procedure aimed at determining the amounts of remuneration and compensation”. And the city of Rio said that “any review that may be necessary will be carried out in a responsible, transparent manner and in accordance with judicial guidance”. When contacted, Alerj did not respond.