At the ceremony where he celebrated the reduction of the INSS backlog, President Lula made an emphatic defense of the real minimum wage adjustment policy, even mentioning the value of 3% above inflation as a reference. He criticized the idea that this percentage would be a risk to public accounts, arguing that it is too low to jeopardize the fiscal sustainability of a country.
The current adjustment rule, which links the minimum wage to the Gross Domestic Product from two years prior, was pointed out as one of the factors that contributed to the acceleration of the Social Security deficit during Lula's term, even after the retirement reform approved earlier.
At the end of 2024, Lula needed to accept submitting this rule to the spending cap, limiting the adjustment to a maximum of 2.5%. At the time, government technicians themselves advocated for even greater moderation in minimum wage increases to protect social security accounts.
The accelerated worsening of the social security balance has already led some analysts to return to suggesting the need for a new reform in the system, amid the scenario of a tight election and pressures for fiscal adjustment.
