Understand the myths about the Incarceration Aid benefit released by the INSS

2024-01-07 13:30:14

Share

Tweet

Share

Share

E-mail

Understand the myths about the Incarceration Aid benefit released by the INSS. Incarceration Aid is usually one of the most controversial benefits of the INSS. You have certainly heard or read some news about this benefit and may have even been shocked by it. Did I get it right?

However, controversies usually revolve around fake news or misinterpretations about this benefit. And this incorrect information ends up spreading on social networks, messaging apps, chat circles, among others. And in the end, many people end up spreading an untruth, without checking whether the information is correct or not.

For this reason, we list here 5 myths and truths about Prison Aid that you need to know to never get carried away by fake news again.

Check out!

How does Prison Aid work?

Incarceration Assistance is a social security benefit paid to the dependents of the low-income insured person who is in prison, aiming to guarantee the maintenance and survival of these dependents during the period in which the insured person is imprisoned and unable to provide this support. This benefit was created through law 8,213, of June 24, 1991.

The insured inmate cannot be receiving a salary or any other benefit from the INSS (because, in this case, he would still be able to support his dependents).

Now that we understand what this benefit means, let’s check the facts we have separated about INSS Prison Aid.

1st – Is the prisoner the one who receives the Reclusion Aid?

This is one of the main mistakes made by a large part of the population. Contrary to many news published on social media, the benefit is NOT paid or owed to the prisoner.

As seen previously, those who are entitled to Prison Aid are dependents. In other words, those who depend on the insured to maintain their survival.

Thus, if, for example, the insured inmate does not have any dependents, there will be no payment of this aid.

Therefore, the objective of this benefit is not to support the prisoner, but to protect his dependents, who end up in a vulnerable situation.

2nd – Will the dependents of any prisoner receive Prison Aid?

Again, contrary to what many think, this is not true. It is estimated that those dependent on less than 10% of the prison population You are entitled to Prison Assistance.

Therefore, in terms of percentage, it appears that this aid is not paid to many people, on the contrary. This is because the law contains numerous requirements for granting this benefit.

In this way, we will find out what the requirements for Prison Aid are.

First, for dependents to be entitled to the benefit, the insured must be imprisoned in a closed regime. In other words, dependents of insured inmates in open or semi-open regime will not be entitled to this benefit.

Furthermore, the insured inmate must be low-income. Since 2019, to assess low income, the INSS calculates the average of the last 12 contribution salaries of the insured inmate and this average must be less than R$ 1,425.56 (value updated for 2020).

Before 2019, low income was verified only based on the insured person’s last salary.

Another requirement is the lack of 24 months, that is, the insured person who was arrested must have at least 24 months of contributions to the INSS so that their dependents can be entitled to the benefit.

Last but not least, the term “insured inmate” is not used for nothing. This is because it is necessary for the prisoner to be INSS insured at the time of arrest, i.e., is contributing to the INSS or has contributed in the last few months before arrest.

Therefore, only dependents of the prisoner who are INSS insured and meet all requirements will be entitled to the benefit.

3rd – What is the value of the Prison Aid?

There is a lot of incorrect news about the real value of this benefit. And, it is not necessarily fake news, in fact much of it is due to a misinterpretation of the legislation.

Firstly, we can already highlight that since November 2019, with the promulgation of the Social Security Reformthe value of the Prison Aid benefit was limited to the minimum wage.

In other words, the dependents of the insured person who is incarcerated after 11/12/2019 will only receive a minimum wage.

Before that, the value of the benefit was calculated based on the average of the insured’s highest 80% contribution wages, existing since 07/1994. In other words, the value of the benefit basically depended on the wages that the insured received while working and contributing to the social Security.

For dependents of insured inmates before 11/12/2019, this method of calculation continues to apply. Thus, those who are already receiving the benefit will not have their benefit reduced.

As you can see, contrary to many news reports out there, there was no fixed amount paid as Prison Aid. On the contrary, the value of the benefit was different in each case, always depending on the value of the insured’s contributions.

4th – Is the cost of Prison Aid for public coffers very high?

Contrary to what many think, Prison Aid is far from being responsible for the Social Security deficit or any hole in the public coffers.

According to data collected by NGO Open Accountsin 2017, Prison Aid represented only around 0.1% of the total benefits paid by Social Security.

Furthermore, it is estimated that the dependents of around 7% of the prison population receive this benefit.

Another interesting fact here is that the vast majority of benefits are granted to female prisoners. It is estimated that only 2% of the male prison population is entitled to Prison Assistance for their dependents.

Therefore, without going into the merits of whether the benefit is “good” or not, the data demonstrate that we cannot hold Prison Aid responsible for any deficit.

5th – The more dependents, the higher the value of the benefit?

Although we hear a lot about this, the information is false. O The value of the Reclusion Allowance is one and will be distributed equally among the dependents.

This way, even if the insured person has 5 children, the benefit value will remain the same.

In relation to the value, as seen in item 3, after the Pension Reform the value of the Incarceration Aid will always be 1 minimum wage. Even if there is more than one dependent, the amount remains one minimum wage and will be distributed equally to each dependent.

Do not spread false information

As you can see, there is a lot of incorrect information circulating about this benefit. And, I bet you’ve already heard at least one of them.

Regardless of whether or not you agree with this benefit or its concession, when you hear or read something about this benefit, try to check whether that information is true before sharing it on social media or in conversation circles.

It is very important to be well informed and always check information. Don’t fall for fake news.

If the INSS denies granting any of these benefits, the insured may appeal. In this situation it is very important to know what to do. Check out what the policyholder’s options are in the event of benefit denied.

Source: Carbonera & Tomazini Lawyers | Special Retirement