Retirees and pensioners of the National Social Security Institute (INSS) will pay less in future payroll-deductible credit operations. By 14 votes to 1, the National Social Security Council (CNPS) approved this Wednesday (28) the new interest limit of 1.68% per month for these operations.
The new ceiling is 0.04 percentage points lower than the current limit, of 1.72% per month, a level that has been in effect since February. The interest ceiling for payroll credit cards fell from 2.55% to 2.49% per month.
Proposed by the government itself, the measures come into force eight days after the normative instruction is published on the Official Diary of the Union, which will occur in the coming days. Normally, the deadline would be five days, but it was extended at the request of the banks.
The justification for the reduction was the 0.5 percentage point cut in the Selic Rate (basic interest in the economy). At the end of March, the Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) reduced basic interest rates from 11.25% to 10.75% per year. Since August, when the cuts in the Selic began, the Minister of Social Security, Carlos Lupi, said that the ministry has been following the movement in order to propose reductions in the payroll ceiling as interest rates fall. Changes must be approved by the CNPS.
As in the last meetings, the banks have voted against the measure, alleging a mismatch between payroll interest and the reality of the financial market. In February, financial institutions managed to approve a device that inserts, as a reference for payroll loans, the Interbank Deposit (DI) rate over an average period of two years. This indicator is traditionally used to calculate the returns on fixed income investments.
With the new ceiling, official banks will have to reduce rates for INSS payroll loans to continue lending through this modality. According to the most recent data from the Central Bank (BC), Banco do Nordeste charges 1.76% per month; and Banco do Brasil, 1.74% per month. Banco da Amazônia charges 1.77% per month.
As they are above the current ceiling, these rates in practice mean that institutions have suspended offering this type of credit. Among federal banks, only Caixa charges less than the current limit of 1.72% per month, with a rate of 1.71% per month, but the institution will have to reduce the rate to fit into the new ceiling.
Deadlock
The interest limit on INSS payroll loans was the subject of disputes last year. In March 2023, the CNPS reduced the ceiling to 1.7% per year. The decision opposed the ministries of Social Security and Finance.
The banks suspended the offer, claiming that the measure caused imbalances in financial institutions. Under protest from trade unions, Banco do Brasil and Caixa also stopped granting loans because the ceiling of 1.7% per month was lower than that charged by the institutions.
The decision was made by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who arbitrated the impasse and, at the end of March last year, decided on a ceiling of 1.97% per month. The Ministry of Social Security defended a ceiling of 1.87% per month, equivalent to that charged by Caixa Econômica Federal before the suspension of payroll loans for retirees and pensioners. The Treasury defended a limit of 1.99% per month, which allowed Banco do Brasil, which charged a rate of 1.95% per month, to resume granting loans.
