According to the Secretary of State for Labor and Social Security, Pedro Filipe, 2024 “was a year with considerable financial performance”, emphasizing that, in 2023, 836.2 billion kwanzas were collected.
“If we go back five years, when revenues were around 300 billion, we more than tripled the level of collection, therefore, the sustainability of the National Institute of Social Security is not in question”, he assured.
Pedro Filipe, who was speaking at the 11th edition of the ‘briefing’ of the Ministry of Public Administration, Labor and Social Security (MAPTSS) to present the results for the first half of 2025, stressed that there are still challenges, emphasizing the need to grow the contributory base.
“Our current working population is over 16 million inhabitants. The employment market, including both formal and informal employment, has over 16 million, and just over three million are controlled by us. We still have several companies that do not contribute, but the numbers still give us this comfort and a very clear indication that we are on the right track,” he said.
The governor emphasized that the process of regularizing the social security debt is ongoing, and that over 10 billion kwanzas had been recovered by the first half of this year.
“We notified over 5,000 companies in debt, so between voluntary regularization and coercive collection upon presentation of proof, the INSS collected over R$10 billion and we will continue, we will be relentless, we will continue to go after those who are in default, those who are in debt,” he said.
Pedro Filipe said that the government recognizes the country's “challenging” economic context, but there are companies that, “due to negligence, lack of knowledge, or manifest bad faith, fail to make contributions for their workers.”
The chairman of the INSS Board of Directors, Anselmo Monteiro, said that there is currently coverage of only 34 percent, emphasizing the need to expand the contribution base to more than 50 percent to ensure the institution's sustainability.
Anselmo Monteiro stressed that there are still many companies that owe social security contributions, which harm their workers.
Investments in the financial and production sectors, notably agriculture and mining, are the strategies found to ensure the sustainability of mandatory social protection, and other investments are being considered, which Anselmo Monteiro did not specify.
During the period in question, according to Pedro Filipe, there was an increase in the number of contributors, which went from 249,000 to 270,636, a growth rate of 8.6 percent.
“These new contributors in absolute numbers represent just over 21,000 companies, mainly in the private sector. This gives us a very clear idea of the dynamics that the job market is experiencing,” he added.
According to Pedro Filipe, there was stability in terms of retirees, with 168,467 in the first half of 2024, and 56 fewer in the first half of this year, giving “an idea of stability.”
“There is still no reason to worry, because we have one of the highest dependency rates in the world, for every pensioner we have 18 in activity. The ratio between those who are currently receiving their pension and those who are working and contributing still gives us great comfort,” he highlighted.
