INSS starts granting death pension automatically – 06/20/2023 – Market

The INSS (National Institute of Social Security) started granting the death pension automatically from this month. The concession is made with the use of artificial intelligence, which crosses the data of the insured with several other databases of federal, state and municipal governments.

The intention with the automatic granting of the pension is to reduce the queue for the benefit, which, in May, reached 132,523 applications. The average time that the insured waits to have the pension is 68 days, according to the institute.

For the analysis, the INSS uses the data that are already in its systems and can check the information provided by the citizen at the time of the request, including in the database of other bodies. In this way, completion is faster.

Today, the automatic granting of the pension is foreseen in situations where the dependent was married or is a minor child of the person who died. For this, it is necessary to present the birth or marriage certificate, in addition to the document proving the death.

Experts heard by Sheet consider the measure positive, but see the automatic granting of the pension with reservations.

Adriane Bramante, president of the IBDP (Brazilian Institute of Social Security Law), points out that despite facilitating access to benefits, the concession by robot can disrupt people whose legal relationship with the deceased is not included in the systems, as in the case of an unregistered stable union in notary.

“Is this way of granting an automatic pension good? Without a doubt, but it leaves so many other dependents behind, because when it comes to family law there are many nuances”, she says.

Adriane explains that automation, even by facilitating access to the benefit, allows people who are not dependent on the deceased and still have some legal relationship with him to use the system to obtain values ​​in place of the true dependent.

“Imagine someone who has not legally separated and has been living with someone else for ten years, for example. How to deal with this situation? So, there is a niche of people who will be left out [da concessão automática]”, she says.

Rômulo Saraiva, a lawyer specializing in Social Security and a columnist for Sheetconsiders automation beneficial for using federal databases to reduce bureaucracy for this type of demand.

“Automation in the case of death pension adopts a reasoning similar to the automation of the retirement benefit by contribution time, where the INSS itself analyzes the information of the family group and social security dependents. It is a relatively simple situation”, he says.

The INSS death pension is paid to the dependents of the insured person who died, such as husband, wife and children, among others. By law, there are rules to release the benefit. One concerns the age of dependents. The benefit is only paid for life for dependents over 44 years of age.

What can lead the INSS to deny the death pension?

According to Saraiva, among the reasons for denial of the pension due to death is the failure to pay contributions by the insured person, whether consciously or due to the employee’s irregularity, who failed to collect.

“Without a formal note in the work card, these workers are outside the law, although they are performing the activity of the employment relationship and the dependents will remain invisible [para o INSS]’ he says.

Fernanda Perregil, specialist in labor law and researcher at the nucleus Além do Direito do Trabalho at USP (University of São Paulo), explains that another factor that may lead to denial of the granting of the automatic benefit is if it appears in the database that there is no bond of dependency with the person who died.

“If there is a financial condition for self-support, then there is no dependency, not qualifying the person for the death pension. It is necessary to have the dependency of the deceased very well proven”, she says.

How to be entitled to death pension in case of stable union?

Insured people with a stable union cannot automatically grant the death pension. In this case, the grant will be analyzed by a server. In addition, it is necessary to have documentation that proves the bond, under penalty of having the benefit denied.

To prove dependency by common-law marriage, the couple must have been together for at least two years prior to the date of death of the insured person.

In order to prove the union, two documentary proofs must be presented. For couples who have a stable union declaration made at a notary, it is only necessary to present one more document. It is also possible to present witnesses to the INSS to guarantee the granting of the benefit.

How to appeal if the death benefit is denied?

Experts say that after the denial by the INSS, it is possible to file an administrative appeal with the CRPS (Social Security Appeals Council) to appeal the decision within a period of up to 90 days.

In cases where the union between the dependent and the deceased is not automatically recognized by the databases used in the analysis of the automatic grant, the dependent can file an appeal to prove the right to the death benefit.

There must be proof that both were in a stable union or marriage for at least two years, through documentary evidence —such as the declaration of stable union made before a notary—, and contribution time to Social Security, in addition to extracts bank statements, payslips and other documents.

If the appeal is rejected, the dependent can file a lawsuit to appeal the CRPS decision.

Who can receive the death benefit?

The following are considered dependents for granting the death pension:

• Spouse or partner
• Unemancipated children under 21 years of age
• Children who are disabled or have an intellectual, mental or severe disability
• The parents of the person who died
• Unemancipated siblings under 21 years of age
• Siblings over 21 years of age who are disabled or have an intellectual, mental or serious disability

For the granting of the death pension, it is necessary that the deceased person is insured by Social Security, in addition to proof that the applicant for the benefit is dependent on the insured person who died.

What other benefits are granted automatically?

• Retirement by time of contribution
• Retirement by age (urban and rural)
• Maternity Salary (urban and rural)
• Pension for death (urban and rural)
• BPC (Benefit of Continuous Provision) for the Elderly
• BPC (Benefit of Continuous Provision) for the Handicapped
• Urban and Rural Seclusion Aid
• Assistance-Inclusion

How do I apply for a death benefit?

• Enter the “My INSS” application or portal;
• Click on “New order”;
• Type in the search the name of the desired benefit, in this case, death pension
• Documents will be requested for the analysis of granting the benefit
• Follow the step by step, answer the questions, send photos of the documents and complete the service
• A protocol number will be generated
• Register an email for information about the grant

What documents are required to apply for death benefit?

• CPF number of the deceased person and dependents
• If you are an attorney or legal representative: power of attorney or term of legal representation (guardianship, curatorship, term of custody)
• Identification document with photo (RG, CNH or CTPS) and CPF of the attorney or representative

Also may be requested:

• Documents to prove contribution time
• Documents to prove marriage, stable union and dependency relationship

How to track the approval of the death benefit benefit?

• To follow up and receive the response of your process:
• Enter My INSS;
• Click on the “Check orders” button;
• Find your process in the list;
• To see more details, click on “Details”