Brazil senator says no deficit facing pension system

There is no deficit facing Brazil's pension system. The statement was made by Senator Paulo Paim, head of the committee investigating the issue in the Senate. In his view, the business sector collect some $7.78 billion from workers every year without handing it on to social security.

Paim added that the committee will show that the gap in the country's pension system is directly linked to an accumulated debt owed by big-time banks, companies and assembly plants, which totals over $155 billion.

Senator Hélio José, the rapporteur in the case—whose proceedings are slated to end on September 8—declared that he plans to ask for an extension in the deadline for the report in a bid to put together a more thorough document, which should include stepping efforts against insolvency. “We cannot tolerate major debtors not paying their due to social security,” he said.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira