STF Overturns INSS ‘Lifetime Review’ in 8–3 Ruling

Overview

• The decision bars the use of contributions paid before July 1994 when calculating INSS benefits, ending the option to choose a more favorable formula.
• Amounts paid to beneficiaries under court orders issued through April 5, 2024 will not be reclaimed, with preservation extended to provisional and final decisions.
• Claimants with lawsuits pending by the April 5, 2024 cutoff will not owe attorneys’ fees or accounting costs tied to those cases.
• Roughly 140,000 suspended lawsuits on the issue will resume in lower courts following the virtual session that concluded late Tuesday.
• The majority joined relator Alexandre de Moraes, with dissents from André Mendonça, Edson Fachin and Rosa Weber, as the government had warned of potential costs up to R$480 billion under broad application of the review.