INTERVIEW-Brazil has no 'Plan B' for pension reform -Meirelles

The Brazilian government sees no alternative to its pension reform proposal and any changes would distort a plan needed for the recovery of Latin America's biggest economy, Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said on Tuesday.

In an interview with Reuters, Meirelles said the government would not negotiate changes to its proposed minimum age of retirement of 65 years of age.

"In principle we don't have a plan B. We are not working with other alternatives because this plan was very well thought out," Meirelles said. "This proposal is the solution and any changes to it will distort the plan."

The pension reform to reduce generous retirement benefits is at the heart of Meirelles' austerity drive to plug a widening budget deficit and pull the economy out of its worst recession in more than a century.

Meirelles added that the government was not open to changing the entry point for the new pension system. The government plans to include all male workers under 50 years of age in the new program, with transition rules for those older. The threshold for women is 45 years of age.

Workers unions and some lawmakers from President Michel Temer's alliance in Congress have demanded changes to the unpopular reform that the government expects to approve later this year.

Meirelles said the government would carefully analyze whether or not to reduce its 2019 inflation target, seeking to anchor future inflation expectations without "necessarily demanding a bigger effort from the central bank."

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)