Penduricalhos make TCE-RJ advisor receive almost R$3 million in a single month, survey shows An RJ2 survey of the paychecks of councilors at the Rio de Janeiro State Court of Auditors (TCE-RJ) identified payments well above the constitutional ceiling for public service. In one of the cases, a counselor received almost R$3 million in a single month, considering remuneration and compensation. 📱Download the g1 app to see news from RJ in real time and for free According to the Constitution, the public service ceiling corresponds to the salary of ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), currently around R$46 thousand per month. However, certain benefits and compensation payments — popularly known as "penduricalhos" — do not fall within this limit and can significantly increase the amounts received. RJ2 analyzed the paychecks of the seven TCE-RJ councilors between May 2025 and April 2026 and found payments that exceeded the constitutional ceiling. Counselor Rodrigo Nascimento, from TCE-RJ Reproduction/TV Globo According to the Court, these values include personal rights and compensation amounts accumulated over the years, supported by legislation and STF jurisprudence. Almost R$3 million in one month The largest payment identified was from counselor Rodrigo Melo do Nascimento, who received almost R$3 million in October. According to his pay slip, he received more than R$388,000 in remuneration after deductions and more than R$2.5 million in other compensation amounts, which included, for example, bonuses for overwork. Another case that caught attention was that of counselor Mariana Montebello Willeman. She received salaries of more than R$200,000 for five consecutive months and, in February of this year, the payment exceeded R$800,000, with more than R$141,000 being remuneration after deductions of more than R$728,000 classified as other compensation amounts. The president of TCE-RJ, Márcio Pacheco, received more than R$360,000 in October. The paycheck records more than R$172 thousand in remuneration after deductions and more than R$195 thousand in compensation funds. TCE-RJ rejected request to suspend RJ subway concession, this Tuesday (7) Reproduction In the same month, counselor José Gomes Graciosa received more than R$1 million, of which R$321 thousand was remuneration after deductions and more than R$828 thousand in other compensation amounts. The vice-president of the Court, Thiago Pampolha, the most recent member of the panel, received in March almost R$100,000 in payments classified as other compensation amounts, totaling R$95,815.53 under this heading. Over the period analyzed, the seven sitting councilors together received R$11.8 million. Convict received food assistance Two sitting counselors are removed from their duties at the court. Marco Antônio de Alencar, dismissed four years ago and facing corruption charges, received around R$600,000 in the period analyzed. Domingos Brazão, sentenced to 76 years in prison for being identified as having ordered the murder of councilwoman Marielle Franco and imprisoned since March 2024, continues to receive a salary of approximately R$35,000. The survey also identified that Brazão received almost R$10,000 in food assistance between February and April this year. Domingos Brazão Reproduction/TV Globo Senior analyst at Transparência Brasil, Bianca Berti, stated that the payment of these compensation payments is not illegal, but is "immoral". "These funds were regulated by each body. So they had a certain amount of autonomy to define how they would pay and what type of benefits they wanted to distribute to both counselors and employees." "In this specific case of the Rio de Janeiro State Court of Auditors, for example, they are, in principle, legal. Immoral and irrational," she stated. STF imposed transparency The RJ2 survey was only possible after the Federal Supreme Court determined greater transparency in the disclosure of public bodies' payrolls, preventing the use of nomenclatures that would make it difficult to identify the funds received. The new criteria for paying so-called penduricalhos were defined by the STF in March and came into effect in May. Since then, according to the survey, advisors' payments have been within the new established limit, of up to approximately R$78,800 per month, considering the permitted installments. For Bianca Berti, the country needs to move towards clearer regulation of these funds. "We understand that it would be very positive if Brazil managed to create legislation that would take into account these remunerations as a whole and the benefits that can be paid and that cannot be paid." "And mainly it is to prevent bodies from having the autonomy to distort funds that are remuneration, which are benefits arising from the work that the public servant performs, into compensation funds, which is the practice that this high level of certain institutions has engaged in in this process of maximizing their own earnings", he commented. What the TCE says In a note, the State Court of Auditors stated that all payments strictly complied with current legislation, decisions of the Federal Supreme Court and applicable understandings on the subject. The body declared that the amounts highlighted do not correspond exclusively to the monthly remuneration of directors, but include amounts of a personal and indemnity nature relating to rights accumulated over the years and supported by legislation and the jurisprudence of higher courts. According to the TCE-RJ, a significant part of these amounts arises from the payment of past installments of acquired and regularly recognized rights, having been paid in full in some cases based on criteria of economy and administrative efficiency. The Court also informed that it currently observes the remuneration ceiling allowed by the Constitution and the consolidated jurisprudence of the STF, admitting only compensation installments and authorized rights of a personal nature, and stated that it adopts the same parameters used by other bodies of the Justice system, such as the Court of Justice and the Public Prosecutor's Office.