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The Federal Supreme Court (STF) is hearing a case involving the adjustment of the FGTS (Service Time Guarantee Fund) using the Referential Rate (TR). The trial began in April and already has two votes in favor of FGTS payments being equivalent to those of savings accounts.
Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF) estimates a significant impact of R$ 661 billion on the government if the TR is rejected. Learn more about the case and see how it affects you.
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FGTS remuneration and its impacts
Laws No. 13,446/2017 and No. 13,932/2019 introduced changes to the FGTS, allowing part of the profits to be distributed to account holders. This resulted in returns higher than the TR and inflation.
However, the Office of the Attorney General of the Union (AGU) tried unsuccessfully to prevent the Court from hearing the issue. In 2022, the TR was 1.63%, while savings accounts yielded 7.89% and the IPCA ended the year at 5.79%.
Thus, the discussion in question revolves around the adjustment of the FGTS during the period between 1999 and 2013, originating from the ADI 5090 lawsuit filed by the Solidariedade party.
The arguments contend that applying the TR to adjust the balances would reduce workers’ assets. This is because the FGTS represents a type of compulsory savings for the benefit of workers.
Who does the adjustment affect?
Caixa warned that housing financing rates would increase from around 5% to between 10% and 13% if the workers’ request were accepted, replacing the TR with other indexes, such as the Selic or IPCA.
However, 87% of the amounts would go to 5% of workers who earn more than ten minimum wages. Meanwhile, lower-income workers would receive an average of between R$ 1,000 and R$ 4,000, but would face higher rates when financing their own homes.
Image: Unsplash/Daniel Dan
