UPDATE 1-Brazil's Bolsonaro says pension reform plan would save $270 bln in 10 yrs

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro delivered his pension reform plan to Congress on Wednesday, aiming to save over 1 trillion reais ($270 billion) over a decade by changing tax rates, delaying retirement and creating individual savings accounts. The proposed social security reform is the cornerstone of Bolsonaro's plan to close what rating agencies say is an unsustainable public deficit and bolster a sluggish economic recovery.

His savings target is far more ambitious than the roughly 600 billion reais of savings in a decade proposed by Bolsonaro's predecessor, Michel Temer, who eventually gave up on the unpopular initiative. "Changes in demographics mean we have to change the rules. The current system is unsustainable," Pension Secretary Leonardo Rolim told journalists in Brasilia.

A proposed constitutional amendment that Bolsonaro presented to congressional leaders would save 1.072 trillion reais in a decade, according to an Economy Ministry presentation. Proposed changes to military pensions, which the government pledged to deliver within 30 days, would bring savings of 1.165 trillion reais in 10 years.

Savings would come from wealthier taxpayers contributing more, higher minimum retirement ages and a new system of individual savings accounts, giving workers "an alternative to the current system," according to the ministry's presentation. ($1 = 3.6973 reais) (Reporting by Jamie McGeever and Marcela Ayres; Additional reporting by Ricardo Brito; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)