Happy As A Senior Citizen In Rio de Janeiro

A couple of days ago, I took the catamaran ferry to visit my friends in Niteroi, Rio’s sister city across the Guanabara bay.  To my surprise, the ride (about US$ 10 return) was free because I am over 65.  Public transport in the State of Rio de Janeiro (subway, tram and buses) is free for people over 65.  And the seniors’ perks are not limited to public transport.  Sport and culture are available at half price for seniors over 60.  It is enshrined in a federal law.  Visitors can also enjoy the benefit!

Brazil is a country where people pine to become senior citizens! They prepare early, many retire as young as 50 (58 is the average retirement age) therefore they reach 60 in prime shape.  Statistics indicate that the richer they are, the earlier they retire. Public servants usually retire with a pension equivalent to their last salary.  Rio is a paradise for seniors, and we are many to enjoy the perks.  The suburb of Copacabana holds Brazil’s record for senior population, 30% are over 65!  This geriatric generosity cannot last forever; it is bankrupting not only the state of Rio de Janeiro but the whole of Brazil.  The Brazilian population is aging unexpectedly rapidly, as both mortality and fertility rates have fallen in tandem.  With 1.7 children, Brazilian mums have less kids than French ones (2015).

Pension payment of the pay-as-you go system is equivalent to about 13% of Brazil’s GDP.  However, the worrying aspect is the annual shortfall which is estimated at 5% of GDP, more than half of the total government annual deficit.  35% of this deficit is owing to pensions of former public sector employees (military personnel and politicians included)[1].  President Jair Bolsonaro left the army at 33 for the reserve and spent 27 years in Congress; he accumulates two pensions for these services.  With his president’s salary, his monthly income is in the range of US$ 20,000.00.  Many former judges and politicians probably make as much money, possibly more.

A far-reaching pension reform is on its way to congress for vote fortunately, senior citizens’ public transport perks are not on the carving table yet.  The Rio subway is notably senior and disabled friendly.  All the stations have escalators and elevators.  Special staff are on hand to assist passengers in wheelchairs and those who are sight-impaired.  Each station has a special turnstile for seniors manned by a subway employee whose job is to help seniors get through when they don’t carry a metro card.  As a result, many seniors don’t even bother to obtain the transport card, but I always ride with my metro card.  Subway cars have special seats assigned to seniors and expectant mothers. This being Rio, the former outnumbers the latter! Because there are more senior riders than seats, many younger passengers routinely get up to offer their seats.

Buses in Rio are plentiful but navigating them is confusing, and uncomfortable because of lack of maintenance and air conditioning.  Many buses are falling apart, and riding is nerve-racking, as many drivers handle their buses like motorbikes.  Seniors also need a special pass to board the buses for free.  In case they have forgotten it, the driver, if in a good mood (they usually are in Rio!) allows the forgetful to hop through the back door to avoid the turnstile.

Culture and sport are offered for meia, half price, for students and senior citizens as long as they can justify the privilege.  ID must be presented when buying tickets; when purchasing online, the ID number must be indicated.  I keep records of my senior friends’ IDs for this purpose.  If I have mixed feeling when a young person gives me a seat in the subway, I laugh when the box office staff asks: student or senior?  A cinema ticket costs US$ 5.00 and one pays a little more for a classical concert.  

Rio hosts two major classical orchestras; I would argue, one too many! Both are sponsored by major companies.  Not-so-stellar-record mining company Vale[2] is sponsoring the OSB, the old symphonic orchestra of Brazil founded in 1940, and Petrobras has its namesake orchestra competing for the same public.  A half-priced concert ticket costs an average US$ 7.00.  In addition, these two orchestras routinely give free concerts in churches.  Years ago, I attended a J.S. Bach mass in the Candelaria church sitting next to a smelly homeless man who told me that classical music calms his nerves!  Because, tickets are so cheap, Brazil is certainly the only country in the world where classical concerts attract so many young and lower middle-class people.  A very refreshing concert scene.   Foreign orchestras and artists (pop, rock, classical and ballet) also tour Brazil, but since they are invited by private organizations their performances are costlier.  Nonetheless the meia rate applies!

                                                                     Futuristic Museum

The collections of Rio’s art museums do not compare with those of major capitals, but they are noteworthy; state museums compensate for their habitual underfunding by mounting creative exhibitions.  In addition to museums, there are several cultural centers sponsored by corporations and state-owned enterprises like CCBB, the bank of Brazil, the Post Office, the Caixa (a saving bank).  The private houses of art patrons have also been turned into museums.  The meia applies to private institutions, but cultural centers are free and their blockbuster exhibits attract socially diverse visitors.  Since the government has a minimum cultural budget, corporations were offered generous tax incentives to fund these activities. The system is imperfect, as the sponsored productions take place in the richest parts of the country and target middle-class audience.  President Bolsonaro, not a man of culture in the first place, wants to change the sponsoring rules.  The corporations’ generosity is not altruist, they have their potential clients in mind, a populist reform may be counter-productive and dry up overall funding.

I feel pangs of guilt when I travel for free and enjoy cheap cultural tickets, however like the majority of the Brazilian middle class, I convince myself that it is a compensation for our tax money going down the rathole.

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[1] Widows and daughters of military personnel received generous pensions.  Widows who happen to be military daughters accumulate two pensions.  The privilege has been terminated for new entrants, but there are apparently loop-holes.

[2] Infamously known for the deadly Mariana and Brumadinho dam collapses.