Since Brazil's 2019 pension reform (Constitutional Amendment 103), there's no longer a single INSS retirement rule. Anyone who was already contributing before the reform can fall under up to four different transition rules, plus the permanent rule — each with its own age and contribution-time requirements. This confuses a lot of people. This article explains each rule in plain language.
Why are there several rules?
The 2019 reform tightened the conditions for retirement, but it couldn't simply apply the new rules overnight to people who had already been contributing for years. That's why transition rules were created — bridges between the old and new systems, each designed for a different worker profile.
Points rule
Add your age to your contribution time. If the result reaches the required score in the year you retire, you qualify under this rule. The required score rises by 1 point each year — in 2026, it's 93 points for women and 103 for men, up to a cap (100 and 105, respectively). You also need at least 30 years of contribution (women) or 35 years (men).
Advantage: no minimum age requirement — just the sum. Tends to favor people who started working (and contributing) young.
Progressive minimum age
As the name suggests, this rule requires a minimum age that rises 6 months each year, plus the minimum contribution time (30 years for women, 35 for men). In 2026, the minimum age stands at 59 years and 6 months for women and 64 years and 6 months for men.
50% toll
A rule for anyone who, in November 2019 (when the reform took effect), was within 2 years of completing the old rule's minimum contribution time (30 years women, 35 men). Besides completing the time that was missing, you must work an additional 50% of that period as a "toll." No minimum age required.
In practice, by 2026 this rule is essentially exhausted — anyone who qualified for it has long since had enough time to complete the toll and retire. Still worth knowing, but it's unlikely to be the fastest rule for anyone calculating their retirement today.
100% toll
For anyone who hadn't yet completed the minimum contribution time by November 2019 (no limit on how much was missing), but reaches a minimum age — 57 for women, 60 for men. The toll here is bigger: you must work double the time that was missing in 2019, on top of reaching the minimum age. In exchange, the benefit is calculated with no reduction at all (100% of the average salary).
Permanent rule
This is the definitive rule created by the reform itself — it applies to anyone who started contributing after November 2019, or simply doesn't qualify for any transition rule. It requires 65 years of age (men) or 62 (women), with at least 20 years (men) or 15 years (women) of contribution.
How to know which rule is fastest for you
In most cases, more than one rule applies to your profile at the same time — the question isn't "which rule do I use," but "which one lets me retire soonest, with the best benefit." That depends on the combination of your current age, your contribution time and your gender, and usually requires comparing all five scenarios side by side.
To avoid doing this math by hand, use the INSS vs. PGBL/VGBL calculator — it tests all five rules automatically from your age and contribution time, shows which one is fastest in your case, and even compares the INSS benefit with what you'd accumulate saving the same monthly amount in a private pension plan.
What this article doesn't cover
This text covers the general RGPS rules for ordinary urban workers. Teachers, rural workers, people with disabilities, and those in special/hazardous occupations have their own rules, with different requirements than described here. This content is educational and does not replace the official Meu INSS simulation or personalized pension advice.