Revision of the salary bonus would generate savings of at least R$25 billion per year

A measure suggested by economic analysts to help the federal government reduce public spending is the extinction or at least a redesign of the salary bonus, a type of fourteenth salary for workers with a formal contract for at least five years and who receive up to two minimum wages. .

“There are numerous studies that show that this is an expensive and inefficient policy, poorly focused and that it contributes little in terms of financial support to the poorest workers”, says Gabriel Leal de Barros, chief economist at Ryo Asset. “It is not a social policy, but a job market policy”, he adds. Furthermore, he highlights, there is a considerable overlap between the program and the family salary.

Today the annual cost of the salary bonus is just over R$20 billion, but it should reach R$28 billion in 2026, and R$37 billion in 2033, if the current rules are maintained. The economist considers three possible options.

The first is the immediate end of the program, which would provide a fiscal gain of R$313.8 billion over 10 years. The second, the gradual extinction in four years, whose savings would be R$272.5 billion by 2033. The last would be to restrict the benefit only to workers who earn up to the minimum wage from 2024 onwards, which would already provide fiscal space extra R$255.8 billion in a decade – around R$25 billion per year, on average.

“This is a debate that has been going on for a long time, but there is a huge political resistance to doing so. It has already been established that the salary bonus is not efficient either in reducing unemployment or poverty”, says Tiago Sbardelotto, from XP Investimentos.