New saque-aniversário rules could leave 9 million without credit

The new rules for granting loans with the guarantee of saque-aniversário, which come into effect on November 1st, are expected to limit access to credit for at least 9 million workers who have balances in the FGTS but are unemployed. This estimate comes from ABBC (Brazilian Association of Banks), an entity that represents medium-sized financial institutions, which is critical of the new rules for loans with saque-aniversário guarantee. The anticipation of the saque-aniversário has interest rates regulated by the government and is currently the cheapest line in personal credit, with a ceiling of 1.79% per month, lower than the ceiling for INSS pensioners, which is 1.85% per month. What happened? On November 1st, the new rules for saque-aniversário come into effect, with limits on the amount that can be anticipated, on the number of operations, and on the term of the anticipations. In a letter to the Ministry of Labor, ABBC argues that the measures, “although well-intentioned, tend to produce effects contrary to those desired.” According to the calculations of the entity, the restrictions will directly impact 20 million workers who currently make anticipations of saque-aniversário, or 80% of the 26.4 million people with balances in the FGTS. Apart from the 9 million unemployed who will lose access to the line, and also do not have access to the new private payroll loan, the Credit of the Worker, the entity points out that 74% of the people who currently make the anticipation of the saque-aniversário are in a negative financial state. “The introduced restrictions – notably the imposition of a floor and ceiling of values per saque-aniversário (R$100 and R$500) and the limitation of a single active operation per competence – restrict the full use of the available balance and can lead to credit decisions based on opportunity, increasing the risk of overindebtedness, especially among the most vulnerable workers,” says ABBC. The saque-aniversário was created under the government of Jair Bolsonaro as an option for the worker to gradually release the balance of the FGTS, but it has always been a target of criticism from the Workers’ Party. For the party of former President Lula, the saque-aniversário distorts and empties the FGTS, reducing the worker’s savings and the capacity of the government to finance investments in infrastructure, housing, and sanitation. How does saque-aniversário work? Those who adhere to the saque-aniversário can release a percentage proportional to the balance in the birth month – but are prohibited from withdrawing the full balance in case of unjustified dismissal. Currently, 51% of CLT workers are in the program. For supporters of the measure, the anticipation with the guarantee of saque-aniversário has the advantage of being a cheap line of credit that does not compromise the worker’s income since it is secured in a savings account to which they would not have access. When the rules were announced, the Minister of Labor and Employment, Luiz Marinho, classified the saque-aniversário as a “trap” for workers: “When fired, a person who chooses the saque-aniversário cannot withdraw the balance of their FGTS – and firings happen every day. Today, there are already 13 million workers with blocked funds, which amount to R$6.5 billion,” said the minister. According to the Ministry of Labor and Employment, FGTS alienation operations totaled R$236 billion between 2020 and 2025. With the changes, the government estimates that by 2030, around R$84.6 billion will be used as collateral for loan anticipation and will be directly transferred to workers. Worker Credit with FGTS guarantee By limiting saque-aniversário rules, the government also aims to strengthen the consigned program for the private sector, the Worker Credit, which allows the use of FGTS as collateral. The program launched in late March currently has around R$50 billion in new contracts, with an average rate of around 3.79%. There are also another almost R$30 billion from the old modality, which had lower rates and migrated to the new rules. Interest rates on worker credit are free, but the government is trying to reduce rates by promoting competition among financial institutions within the digital labor wallet application. The government believes that rates will decrease when the use of FGTS guarantee for worker consignments is regulated. The idea is that in case of dismissal, the worker can use 100% of the severance pay to settle debts and up to 10% of the FGTS balance. How saque-aniversário will work? Waiting period: the worker who joins the saque-aniversário must wait 90 days to make the first balance alienation operation. Currently, there are no restrictions – and the worker can take out a loan immediately after joining. Limit for simultaneous operations: only one anticipatory operation per year will be allowed. Anticipation limit: it will only be possible to anticipate up to 5 years of saque-aniversário within a period of 12 months. After this period, the worker will be able to make up to three new anticipations – that is, in three years. Previously, the limit was set by the institution. The average is eight anticipations per contract, but there are cases of contracts lasting more than 25 years. Amount of balance eligible for anticipation: under the old rule, the worker could anticipate the full amount of the saque-aniversário. Now, the minimum limit is R$ 100 and the maximum is R$ 500. With the limit of five anticipations, the maximum amount that can be contracted will be R$2,500 in one year.