STF Removes Age Minimum for Brazil's Special Retirement

Overview

• The Supreme Federal Court voted 6–5 on Wednesday, June 3 to declare Article 19 of the 2019 pension reform unconstitutional and eliminate the 55/58/60 age floors for special retirement.
• Six justices — Edson Fachin, Rosa Weber, André Mendonça, Cármen Lúcia, Dias Toffoli and Nunes Marques — sided with the challenge brought by the CNTI while Luís Roberto Barroso, Cristiano Zanin, Luiz Fux, Gilmar Mendes and Alexandre de Moraes dissented.
• Workers who prove the required special-contribution time for hazardous duties can now seek retirement regardless of age, restoring the benefit’s protective purpose for roles such as miners, offshore divers and employees exposed to toxic agents or excessive noise.
• The court left intact two key 2019 changes: the ban on converting special service time into common time for post-reform periods and the new calculation formula that reduces the initial benefit amount, so payouts and eligibility processing will still follow the reformed rules.
• The decision partially vindicates the CNTI’s constitutional argument that age floors forced workers to stay in harmful jobs; it also signals possible short-term administrative and fiscal effects as INSS adapts rules for claims, verifies exposure records and faces potential increases in special-retirement applications.