STF Upholds Scheduled Discharge and Automatic End of Sickness Benefit Without a New Medical Exam

This page is a translation of the original Portuguese text, provided for convenience. It deals with Brazilian law. If there is any discrepancy, the Portuguese version prevails. Read the original in Portuguese

Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court unanimously upheld the rule that allows the sickness benefit (auxílio-doença) to end automatically within 120 days, with no new medical exam required. The ruling, issued in September 2025 with general repercussion recognized, binds every court in the country and establishes the so-called scheduled discharge (alta programada) as a legitimate practice of INSS (Brazil’s National Social Security Institute).

What the Supreme Court decided about scheduled discharge

The full bench of the Supreme Federal Court concluded a virtual session in September 2025 and, with it, the judgment on the constitutionality of the automatic termination of the sickness benefit. By unanimous vote, the justices held that the National Social Security Institute may end the benefit within 120 days without conducting a new medical exam of the insured person.

The same ruling also authorized INSS to set an end date earlier than 120 days for the payments, and for the worker’s return to work, again without a prior medical exam. In administrative practice, this mechanism is known as scheduled discharge, or the benefit termination date.

Where the dispute began and the case that was decided

The issue reached the Supreme Court through an appeal by an insured woman who had won before the Appeals Panel of the Federal Special Courts in Sergipe. The Sergipe court had set aside the automatic end of the benefit and ordered a new medical exam to confirm that her ability to work had been restored.

The reasoning accepted by the lower court was formal in nature. It found that the subject could not have been regulated by provisional measure, and that without a new medical evaluation, it was not possible to presume the insured person was fit to return to work. The challenged rules were introduced by two provisional measures issued in 2017 and later converted into law.

In its appeal to the Supreme Court, the social security agency argued that the rules are constitutional both in form and in substance. It also argued that termination on a scheduled date occurs only when the insured person fails to request an extension within the deadline, so there would be no real restriction on the right.

By unanimous vote, the justices held that the National Social Security Institute may end the benefit within 120 days without conducting a new medical exam of the insured person.

The reasoning behind the winning opinion

Every justice followed the reporting justice. The lead opinion rejected the claims of formal defect and stressed that the provisions on automatic termination did not change, in essence, the constitutional protection afforded to workers affected by illness or temporary incapacity.

According to the reporting justice, there was no substantial change to the constitutional provisions covering social security protection for illness and temporary disability. The benefit, officially called the Temporary Disability Benefit (Benefício por Incapacidade Temporária), remains a right of formally employed workers who are current on their social security contributions.

The central reasoning is that scheduled discharge does not take away the right to the benefit. It organizes the benefit’s end within a predictable procedure. Insured persons who still consider themselves unable to work have a specific tool for extending the payments, as explained below.

Scheduled discharge does not extinguish the right to the benefit, but it shifts to the insured person the burden of requesting an extension within the legal deadline.

This logic places on the beneficiary the responsibility to act before the scheduled end date. Anyone who stays passive risks having the payments end on the estimated date, even if they still cannot fully return to work.

How automatic termination after 120 days works

Under the system the Supreme Court upheld, whenever the benefit is granted without a fixed end date, the standard 120-day period applies. At the end of that period, payments stop automatically, with no new medical exam, unless the insured person has requested that the benefit continue.

INSS may also set, at the time of approval, a termination date earlier than 120 days, calculated from the estimated recovery time for the type of leave involved. In both scenarios, the premise is the same: the benefit has an expiration date that the insured person knows from the start.

This model aims to give the agency administrative predictability and to shorten the queue of review exams. On the other hand, it demands extra attention from beneficiaries, who need to keep track of the termination date shown in the approval letter or the benefit statement so they are not caught off guard when payments end.

What insured persons should do to avoid losing the benefit

The tool provided to prevent an improper termination is the extension request. Insured persons who still consider themselves unable to work must ask for the benefit to continue at least 15 days before the scheduled termination date.

The request can be made through the Meu INSS app or website, by phone, or at an INSS office. When you request an extension within the deadline, you secure a new medical evaluation, and payments continue until that exam takes place and a result is issued.

Missing the 15-day deadline has real consequences. Without a timely request, the benefit ends on the scheduled date, and getting it back requires a new application, with the possibility of a period without any payment. That is why writing down the termination date and acting early is the main precaution.

If the extension exam concludes that your ability to work has returned and you disagree with the result, you still have options. You can file a request for reconsideration, an administrative appeal to the review bodies and, depending on the case, a lawsuit seeking reinstatement of the benefit, supported by up-to-date medical documentation.

Practical effects of the ruling for insured persons

By settling scheduled discharge, the Supreme Court has put an end to a significant part of the legal uncertainty that surrounded the issue. Because the ruling is binding, it should make decisions more uniform and reduce the number of preliminary injunctions that, case by case, had blocked the automatic end of the benefit.

In practice, you should treat the termination date as a key piece of information about your benefit, just as you keep track of the amount you receive. The temporary disability benefit is based on the worker’s contribution salary (the wage on which contributions are calculated), subject to the current minimum wage and the ceiling of the general social security system.

Preventive guidance carries more weight in this new landscape. Gathering up-to-date medical reports, test results and records before the scheduled end date strengthens both the administrative extension request and any later court dispute, especially where the incapacity continues beyond the period the agency estimated.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can scheduled discharge end the benefit even without a new medical exam?

Yes. Under the Supreme Court’s decision, INSS may end the benefit within 120 days, or on an earlier date set at approval, without conducting a new exam. Payments continue only if the insured person requests an extension within the deadline, in which case a medical evaluation will be scheduled before any interruption.

What is the deadline to request an extension of the benefit?

The extension request must be made at least 15 days before the scheduled termination date. You can file it through Meu INSS, by phone, or at an INSS office. A request made within the deadline ensures that payments continue until the new medical exam takes place.

I missed the extension deadline and the benefit ended. What can I do?

When the deadline is missed and payments stop, you need to submit a new application to INSS, with medical documentation proving your incapacity. If the application is denied, you can seek reconsideration and file an administrative appeal. If INSS still refuses, you can take the dispute to court and ask for reinstatement of the benefit, supported by up-to-date medical reports.

As informações deste artigo são de caráter informativo e não substituem consulta jurídica individualizada. Cada caso possui particularidades que exigem análise específica.