“Life review”: Moraes votes to release suspended processes two years ago

Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) voted on Friday, 6, in the Virtual Plenary, to cancel the thesis that had allowed the so-called “life revision” and, based on new understanding, releasing all processes on the subject that have been paralyzed for two years by court order.

As the Supreme Court has changed position on the subject, and prohibited retirees from choosing the most advantageous rules of retirement, the minister suggested a new general repercussion thesis to contemplate the current court position and be applied to cases that are suspended.

The theses are created by the Supreme Court to define parameters that must be applied nationally by the judiciary by judging similar demands. They act as a guideline for all judges and courts in the country.

The minister justified that, “due to this modification of understanding” of the Supreme Court, it is necessary to “adapt” the thesis to the latest decision of the Court of March 2024, when the Court ruled against the interests of retirees.

“Therefore, it is necessary to confer effects to the present declaration embargoes, in order to adapt the present trial to the decision made in concentrated control by this Court of ADIs No. 2110/DF and 2111/DF,” Moraes wrote.

The thesis proposed by Alexandre de Moraes expressly recognizes that the STF’s decision “does not allow exception” and that the insured of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) cannot choose to include social security contributions made before the Real Plan in the calculation of retirement, “regardless of being more favorable” (learn more below).

Moraes also proposes that retirees benefited from the revision of the whole life before the court decision that declared the unconstitutional regime do not need to return the money, as the ministers agreed last year.

On April 5, 2024, the minutes of the STF trial that prohibited the revision of a lifetime was published. From that moment on, the court’s decision has concrete effects. This is the temporal framework adopted by Moraes in his thesis.

Retirees who have achieved favorable court decisions until April 2024, whether definitive or provisional, will not be affected. For cases still without decision, or with unfavorable decision, will be worth the new thesis, according to Moraes.

“The effects of this decision are modulated to determine the unrepeatability of the values ​​perceived by the insured by virtue of judicial, definitive or provisional decisions, rendered until 4/4/24, date of publication of the ADI Merit Judgment Minutes 2,110/DF and 2,111/DF,” says the minister’s thesis proposal.

The judgment in the virtual plenary runs until June 13.

What is the revision of the whole life?

The all -life revision thesis would allow social security contributions made before July 1994 to be considered in the calculation of pensions, which could benefit retirees.

The background is the 1999 social security reform (FHC government), which excluded from the calculation base the contributions made before the Real Plan (1994). The idea was to avoid the effects of uncontrolled inflation from the previous period.

In practice, the decision to include in the account the contributions made before 1994 would only be advantageous for those who received higher wages before the Real Plan. Otherwise, the value of retirement could be reduced.

Thesis spokesmen argued that policyholders should have the prerogative to choose the most advantageous regime in case of change of the calculation rules. The ministers decided in the opposite direction, that is, that there is no margin for the option.

There was a change of understanding because in 2022 the Supreme Court allowed the whole life to judge an extraordinary appeal on the subject. In 2024, the 1999 Social Security Reform that opened this breach was declared unconstitutional, which leads the court to review the thesis at this time.