April 2026
27Apr

Analysis-Brazil shackles public pension funds after Banco Master meltdown

Brazil’s biggest bank failure in recent history has led to an aggressive crackdown on public pension funds, which were among its creditors, limiting their portfolios in ways that could make it harder to hit their long-term targets. The new restraints for public pension funds, which manage some $73 billion in Brazil, are part of the widening fallout from the liquidation of Banco Master, with consequences for politicians, a state-run lender and even central bankers. Although Master was not considered a systemic...

April 27, 2026
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March 2026
06Mar

The Impact of Pension System Reforms on Elderly Labor Force Participation: A Comparative Study of Germany, the United States, and Brazil

By Amos Kupaza Objective: This study provides the first harmonized, micro‑level comparative analysis of pension reform effects on elderly labor force participation in three paradigmatic welfare regimes: Germany (coordinated market economy, conservative‑corporatist welfare), the United States (liberal market economy, liberal welfare), and Brazil (dualistic economy, conservative‑informal welfare). We test the institutional mediation hypothesis: that reform effects are systematically shaped by labor market structures, social protection arrangements, and production regimes. Methods: We employ harmonized microdata from IPUMS-CPS (USA) and IPUMS-International (Germany, Brazil) , comprising 495,000 person‑year observations spanning 2000–2023....

March 6, 2026
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December 2025
15Dec

Brazil’s Supreme Court (STF) has scheduled for December 18th the trial that could increase benefits in 2026.

The Supreme Federal Court set a date for December 18, 2025 the trial that could directly affect minimum age for special retirement, with significant implications for workers exposed to harmful conditions and for those who have already reorganized their lives after retirement. Beyond the minimum age for special retirementThe agenda involves the possibility of resuming full retirement benefits and allowing the conversion of special time into common time, forming a set of decisions that, if they move forward, could alter retirement planning, values, and...

December 15, 2025
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11Dec

Brazil. The pension deficit is no longer a distant issue but is now a national concern, raising the question that will define the future of a generation: will it still be possible to retire?

Pension system pressured by growing deficit, demographic changes and uncertainties about future payment capacity. The situation of the Brazilian social security system is no longer addressed solely in technical reports; it has become a key point in public debate, precisely because official data shows that the system operates under continuous structural pressure. With each new release, the perception grows that demographic, financial, and administrative challenges are accumulating rapidly. Furthermore, experts say that the pressure tends to intensify, as the country ages...

December 11, 2025
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June 2025
12Jun

Brazil and Mexico draw inflows as investors rotate from China, India, and Russia

Latin American equities have become the top-performing stock market group this year, with investors paying just over $9 for every $1 in earnings—compared to over $19 in developed markets—according to Reuters. Brazil and Mexico have emerged as central markets for global investors seeking yield, value, and diversification amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and a shifting global macroeconomic landscape. Both countries’ stock markets are trading near record highs, with valuations described as low. Sovereign bonds across the region offer attractive yields, supported by softening...

June 12, 2025
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May 2025
05May

Brazil social security minister latest to quit in major pension fraud scandal

Brazil's Social Security Minister, Carlos Lupi, has resigned nine days after police unveiled a major corruption scandal which defrauded pensioners of $1.1bn (£829m). Federal police allege that over the past decade, the National Social Security Institute (INSS) made unauthorised deductions from payments made to millions of pensioners. The money was allegedly paid to several associations and unions, which then shared the earnings with corrupt government officials. Lupi has always denied any wrongdoing and said he ordered an investigation as soon as he...

May 5, 2025
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April 2025
24Apr

Brazilian police probe a pension fraud scheme that stole $1 billion from retirees

Brazil 's federal police said Wednesday they are investigating a scheme that diverted over 6 billion reais ($1.05 billion) from pensions paid by the National Social Security Institute. The probe targets 11 organizations that operated between 2019 and 2024, authorities told reporters. The scheme had retirees listed as members of associations that collected part of their monthly pensions as fees for the organizations. However, the retirees had never joined such associations nor authorized the deductions. As part of the probe, the president...

April 24, 2025
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March 2025
28Mar

BlackRock Targets Pension Funds in Growth Strategy for Brazil

BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager, is in talks with Brazilian pension funds to expand further into the 2.9 trillion-real ($510 billion) industry. “Today, we don’t have a mandate to manage money from pension funds locally in Brazil,” Bruno Barino, who took over as BlackRock’s Brazil country manager in October, said in an interview. “But it’s a natural evolution; there is no way to be in this market and not do it.” With $11.6 trillion in assets under management, BlackRock...

March 28, 2025
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November 2024
14Nov

Brazil. Military pensions post largest deficit among retirement systems

The segment is also the one with the most retirement benefits, according to a TCU report Targeted by the fiscal reforms under consideration by the government, Brazil’s military pension system (SPSMFA) recorded a deficit of R$49.73 billion last year, placing it as less sustainable than the General Social Security System (RGPS) and generating a per capita deficit 17 times higher. This data appears in a separate report by Walton Alencar of the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), presented during the review...

November 14, 2024
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13Nov

Brazil’s aging population poses challenges, economists warn

By Marsílea Gombata Brazil is set to experience rapid demographic changes within the next 20 years, which could slow economic growth and increase expenditures on healthcare and pensions. However, these shifts are not being adequately considered in government decision-making, according to economists from the Fundação Getulio Vargas’s Brazilian Institute of Economics (Ibre-FGV). They caution that, from a budgetary standpoint, the government should exercise greater caution with projected spending in areas like education, given the anticipated decline in the population aged...

November 13, 2024
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