[1][2] The reform was created to combat the giant deficit in the pension system, of more than R$194 billion in 2018, and the rapid aging of the Brazilian population.

[2] The reform proposal was approved by the Federal Senate on 22 October 2019, becoming law and coming into force automatically.

In Brazil's most recent history, the country has been debating pension reform every ten years, in some cases the proposals have simply been shelved as extremely unpopular, in others, mini-reforms have been made, but with long-term null effects, and in one case, the reform was rejected by the Chamber of Deputies by only one vote.

[7] The first president to try to reform Brazil's pension system was Fernando Henrique Cardoso in the year 1995, when he presented his proposal to amend the Constitution.

[5][8] At the end of the process, Fernando Henrique only passed a law that set minimum ages of 48 (women) and 53 (men) for federal servants to retire.

[7] In Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration, there was a change in social security rules, centered on federal servants.

Those who started their careers after Funpresp have their retirement limited to the INSS ceiling (R$5,839.45), with the option to contribute to the complementary fund.

[7] With the worsening of public accounts and the widening Social Security deficit, the Michel Temer government presented a broad reform proposal in December 2016.

Estimates made by the Ministry of Planning showed that expenditures that the government cannot cut (such as those with social security benefits, personnel, allowance and unemployment insurance) would jump from 91.8% in 2017 to 101.4% in 2022.

That means the economic team would have no margin to make investments and would still need to cut the budget to be able to close their accounts.

The proposal affects, besides rural workers, people who perform family economy activities, including prospectors and artisanal fishermen.

Dependents of employees who joined before the creation of supplementary pension will have the benefit calculated obeying the ceiling of the INSS.

The Chamber included in this forecast amounts received as compensation for political amnesties, which may be accrued with other benefits.

The rule maintains the minimum retirement age at 55 for newcomers, and determines at least 30 years of contribution, and 25 in the job for both sexes.

[4][15] Both rules provide that these police officers are entitled to full pay, which is the right to retire with benefits equal to the last salary.

The government presented on March 30 the specific proposal for military pension reform, which will have another process in Congress - that is, the approval of this PEC changes nothing for them.

[4][15] The proposal provides for a minimum age of 65 for men and 62 for women, and 30% of the remaining contribution time to retire under the old rules.

But the text approved by the special commission proposes to withdraw from the Constitution the possibility of applying the disciplinary penalty of compulsory retirement.

[4][15] The PEC proposes to allow special retirement for these workers by the point rule, also considering the time of exposure to these agents.

[13][14] For those who are against Social Security reform, the government's proposal to establish the minimum age as the sole criterion for retirement disregards the different life expectations within Brazil.

In this sense, the minimum age of 62 for women and 65 for men proposed by the current government is very high and close to the average life expectancy of some states.

In addition, increasing the minimum contribution time to 20 years for men is disregarding the Brazilian reality – marked by informal work especially for people with lower education and income - and hindering access to retirement.

Contrary to the claim, critics argue raising the minimum retirement age for women is disregarding the double - even triple - journey they face.

In addition, according to Pnad data for the fourth quarter of 2018, 47% of women in the labour market are not registered - making it difficult for social security contributions.

Basically, this is the initial calculation for the vast majority of social security benefits - that is, it will influence the final income the worker will receive.

In the changes to the public sector, experts argue that taxing 22% on salaries over R$39,000 in the long run will amount to 0.4% of the total economy.