Courts and Congress keep carving exceptions into the 2019 overhaul. Brazil's treasury now tops up almost a third of the country's pension bill.

The government said the pension revision would cost 480 billion reais. Lawyers for retirees put the figure at three billion. The court never decided.

Courts and Congress keep carving exceptions into the 2019 overhaul. Brazil's treasury now tops up almost a third of the country's pension bill.