INSS News

Brazil’s 2026 review of INSS (National Social Security Institute) benefits now includes the BPC/LOAS (Continuous Cash Benefit), and many recipients fear losing their payments without understanding why. The law, however, protects those who meet the requirements, and a few simple precautions greatly reduce the risk of wrongful cancellation.

The benefit review that INSS (Brazil’s National Social Security Institute) announced for 2026 targets retirement pensions, disability and other benefits, and the Benefício de Prestação Continuada (BPC, Brazil’s continuous cash benefit for low-income older adults and people with disabilities). It focuses on outdated records and pending medical examinations. Being summoned, however, does not stop your payments right away: Brazilian social security law gives insured persons safeguards that make any suspension depend on actual proof that the requirements no longer exist.

In 2026, the INSS (Brazil’s National Social Security Institute) expanded its review of benefits, known as the pente-fino (fine-tooth comb), with special attention to insured persons whose registration data is out of date and those with pending medical examinations. Retirements, disability benefits and the Benefício de Prestação Continuada (BPC, the Continuous Cash Benefit) can all be called for reassessment, but being called does not, by itself, suspend your payments.

STJ (Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice) Theme 1.124 defined when back payments on a benefit granted in court reach back to the date of the administrative application and when they are limited to the date INSS (Brazil’s National Social Security Institute) was served with the lawsuit. The distinction can mean years of difference in the amount paid to the insured person.

In Tema 1.124, Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) set the starting point for back payments when a social security benefit is granted in court based on evidence that was never submitted to INSS (Brazil’s National Social Security Institute) during the administrative stage. The ruling distinguishes between cases where the financial effects reach back to the date of the application and cases where they are limited to the date the agency was served with the lawsuit.

Throughout 2026, Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) set holdings in repetitive appeals that apply to every similar case in the country, and several of them affect people who depend on INSS (Brazil’s National Social Security Institute). We have gathered the most important social security decisions and explain, plainly, what changes and what you should do.

In the first half of 2026, Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ruled on 39 topics under the repetitive appeals procedure, and many of them directly affect people who depend on benefits from the INSS (Brazil’s National Social Security Institute). From the administrative cancellation of disability retirement benefits to recognition of special-conditions time for drivers, the theses now bind judges and courts throughout the country.

Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) has designated Topic 1.370 for its repetitive appeals procedure, which will set the deadline for an insured person to challenge in court the denial of an administrative request to review an INSS (Brazil’s National Social Security Institute) benefit. Until the court settles the rule, anyone whose review request was denied needs to pay extra attention to how the *decadência* period (the loss of a right when a legal deadline expires) is counted. The risk is losing the very right to dispute the benefit calculation.

The Federal Government has released R$ 547 million to refund INSS (Brazil’s National Social Security Institute) beneficiaries for amounts deducted without authorization from retirement and survivor benefits. The measure, formalized by Provisional Measure (*Medida Provisória*) 1.378/2026, presumes the good faith of those who were harmed and promises reimbursement through the administrative process, so insured persons do not have to go to court to recover what they lost.

Brazil’s National Congress is reviewing Provisional Measure 1.378/2026, which opens R$ 547 million in extraordinary credit for the Ministry of Social Security to reimburse beneficiaries of the INSS (Brazil’s National Social Security Institute) who had improper deductions taken from their benefits. The proposal presumes that insured persons acted in good faith, waives preliminary steps, and allows the money to be returned directly through the administrative process.

The Chamber of Deputies, Brazil’s lower house, has approved the provisional measure that expands the Benefits Management Program. That vote raises a practical question for anyone who depends on the INSS (Brazil’s National Social Security Institute): besides waiting, do insured persons have legal tools to demand a decision on their application within a reasonable time? Knowing how to use them is what separates passive waiting from action that can actually unlock a benefit.

Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies has approved Provisional Measure 1.369/2026, which expands the Benefits Management Program and cuts from 45 to 30 days the minimum wait before an application qualifies for priority review at INSS (Brazil’s National Social Security Institute). The text now goes to the Federal Senate.

MPS (Ministry of Social Security) Ordinances 1.218 and 1.219, dated August 10, 2026, and published the next day, renewed the membership of the National Supplementary Pension Council and the Supplementary Pension Appeals Chamber for the 2026 to 2028 term. A change in the membership of a board rarely draws interest outside the industry. In this…

INSS (Brazil’s National Social Security Institute) has reinforced its official service channels and warned beneficiaries about scams that use the agency’s name to commit fraud. The guidance comes amid a rise in phishing attempts and improper charges targeting retirees and pensioners.

Brazil’s National Congress will consider releasing a supplementary credit of R$ 185,5 billion to the Social Security Budget, earmarked for retirement benefits, survivor pensions, BPC (Continuous Cash Benefit) and Bolsa Família.