Ending super salaries would save R$3.8 billion to public coffers, says study

The end of super salaries could generate savings of R$3.8 billion per year for public coffers in Brazil. This is what a study carried out by the Public Leadership Center (CLP) shows. The entity considered the impact of the possible approval of the bill that ends salaries above the constitutional ceiling. The proposal has already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies and has since been stuck in the Senate.

“The regulation of the civil service ceiling is essential, firstly, for reasons of public morality. Society no longer tolerates the super salaries in the public sector. Secondly, if implemented, such regulation will open up more space in the public budget for us to allocate resources in areas that are much more priority for the country”, said the CLP in a technical note.

The Constitution establishes that the salary limit for public servants throughout the country must be the salary of ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF). However, some servers receive benefits and frills. The objective of the PL approved by the Chamber is precisely to prevent the accumulation of trinkets.

The survey showed that 0.79% of the 800,000 federal employees have income above the ceiling, with an average monthly additional of R$11,130. This portion of civil servants represents around 6,320 employees. The savings from regulating the ceiling at the federal level would be around R$830 million per year.

In the states, there are around 12,300 civil servants with salaries above the ceiling. In this case, the savings would be R$2.72 billion per year. In municipalities, approximately 1,500 employees have effective income above the ceiling. With the ceiling regulation, the annual savings would be R$200 million.

According to the survey, around 0.3% of statutory employees in Brazil have effective incomes above the ceiling, with an average monthly additional of R$13,327. As a result, those who earned above the ceiling had an average monthly salary above R$50,000. Previously, the average additional monthly income was R$12,685.

“The majority of employees with salaries above the ceiling are located in the states (60.6%). Next are those located in the Union (30.5%) and municipalities (9.0%)”, highlighted the entity. CLP carried out the study based on data from the National Household Sample Survey – Continuous PNAD 2023.