STF forms majority to release payroll to beneficiaries of social programs

The ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) formed a majority, in a virtual plenary, to release the payroll loan for beneficiaries of social programs. However, the measure cannot yet enter into force due to a request for a review by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, which should begin to be analyzed after the end of the judicial recess.

In a virtual trial, the ministers decided whether to maintain the injunction of the rapporteur, Minister Nunes Marques, issued last year, to reject the PDT’s action to block the release of personal loans for beneficiaries of the Benefit of Continued Provision (BPC) and of the Auxílio Brasil ( current Bolsa Familia).

The caption claimed that the payroll deduction can lead to over-indebtedness of vulnerable people, who can compromise the value of the benefit even before the payday.

During the vote, when reaffirming his vote to maintain payroll, Nunes Marques understood that there is no unconstitutionality in offering payroll loans to beneficiaries who wish to have access to loans.

“I do not perceive in the magnum text any normative landmark that justifies taking as unconstitutional the expansion of access to payroll loans. The new limits of the assignable margin are not incompatible with the constitutional precepts suggested by the author”, argued the minister.

The vote was followed by Ministers Edson Fachin, Dias Toffoli, Luiz Fux, Gilmar Mendes and Cármen Lúcia.

The questioned changes are provided for in Law 14,431/2022, sanctioned by former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). The rule allowed payroll discounts to reach up to 45% of benefits.

The judgment took place in the virtual plenary, a modality in which the ministers insert the votes in the system and there is no in-person deliberation. The judgment was finalized on Friday (30), and the result was announced on Thursday (6).