New Bolsa Familia was launched on February 2nd.| Photo: Ana Nascimento/MDS.

The federal government decided to block Bolsa Família for 1.2 million people who registered in the second half of last year. The measure applies to beneficiaries who claim to live alone.

The announcement was made by the Minister of Social Development, Wellington Dias, and the group will have 60 days to re-register the information and demonstrate that, in fact, it meets the requirements to access the benefit. The deadline starts counting from Friday (14).

“If the person meets the Bolsa Família requirements and proves that he lives alone, the benefit is paid again, including the blocked installments. Therefore, the citizen verifies the information, returns to the program’s normal payroll and receives the installments referring to the months without payment”, explained Dias.

The blocking notice will be sent by the Cadastro Único application and by SMS. And those who do not update the information or prove that they live alone may have the Bolsa Família suspended permanently.

According to the minister, the blocking of aid for people who live alone is not to penalize anyone, but to “correct distortions verified in the last year, when there was a sharp curve of single-person registrations”. The ministry reported that, in March of this year, the entry of single-person registrations was 66% lower than the average verified in 2022, when almost 500,000 single-person registrations entered in a single month.