Justice orders INSS to pay retirement suspended 2 years ago – 05/16/2023 – Market

The Federal Court of Pará determined that the INSS (National Institute of Social Security) restore the retirement payment to a 77-year-old woman. The benefit ceased to be paid two years ago by the agency, on suspicion of fraud in the CPF (Individual Taxpayer Registration).

The March decision established a daily fine of R$100. Retirement was paid again to farmer Benedita Ramos de Souza in May.

Sought, the INSS said it complied with and has already complied with the decision. The INSS also said that retirement was suspended on suspicion of fraud and that, as there was no request for reactivation, the benefit was terminated in August 2021.

The family, however, claims to have sought the agency, which advised them to regularize the CPF with the Federal Revenue, which, in turn, said that they could only resolve the case in court, which motivated the action.

The pensioner lives in Benevides, in the metropolitan region of Belém, and has not received the benefit since March 2021. Her document number appears on three death certificates, two in Minas Gerais and one in São Paulo.

According to the family, the INSS reported that other CPFs were found with the same number as hers. The number is a sequence that goes from 9 to 0. Among the cases, there was that of dead people.

Souza is retired by Funrural (Rural Worker Assistance Fund) and received the amount of one minimum wage.

Since the payment was interrupted, the family began a real pilgrimage to try to solve the problem. In addition to the INSS, he had to seek the Federal Revenue and Federal Justice, without success.

“At the INSS, they informed that there was a problem with the CPF. At the Federal Revenue, that there were others (CPF) with the same number as my mother, which they could not solve and that we would have to go to the Federal Court. We filed a lawsuit, we won all instances and so far they haven’t resumed the payment”, said the son, hairdresser André Ramos.

With no recourse, the family relied on a volunteer lawyer to act in the cause. According to Camilla Canto, the delay in resolving the case and the lack of accurate information from the competent bodies led the family to file a lawsuit in September 2021.

“The truth is that nobody knows exactly why the benefit was discontinued. Each time something different was said. First it was death, then duplicity, suspected fraud. They even said that she had problems with her income tax return, and that she doesn’t even say it,” Canto said.

The case was processed for two years, with a favorable opinion in all instances, for the reestablishment of the payment immediately and without any appeal from the INSS, according to the lawyer.

“Today my mother has lost all her autonomy. Everything she needs has to be done by her children. Even the free medicine program she was registered with can no longer receive it, she cannot even go to a doctor’s appointment. She has lost all dignity because officially she is doesn’t exist,”‘ said the son.

In a note, the INSS said that her retirement was reinstated, according to the court decision, and advises that the retiree follow the reactivation of the benefit and the future issuance of payments through remote channels, through My INSS or telephone 135.

The Federal Revenue reported that the pensioner’s CPF has been in good standing since January 1 of last year, after an administrative process in June 2021.

The agency reported that the fact was communicated through a public notice, as it was not possible to inform through the Post Office.

According to the president of the Brazilian Institute of Social Security Law, Adriane Bramante, any divergence of data or information in the insured person’s registration in the system may cause the suspension of benefits with the INSS.

“Different data can compromise the continuity of benefits, not only the CPF, but also the RG, telephone, date of birth, address, e-mail because it is through them that the INSS gets in touch. So, the only way they have of proving that the person exists, is suspending the payment to provoke the trip to the organ”, he said.

This INSS measure, according to the specialist, is to prevent fraud with false documents, as in the case of the retiree’s CPF.

In the crossing of data, explains Bramante, when any incompatibility or divergence is detected, the benefit is temporarily suspended so that the person goes to the agency to regularize the situation and restore the payment. “But in her specific case [Souza]if there is a court order, it is only up to comply”.

She advises that beneficiaries always keep the data up to date to avoid cases like that of the retired woman from Pará. “The insured must check if the documentation is in agreement, if the address in the system is correct, if the contacts are up-to-date because every contact that is made with him is through what is in the system”.

What to do to avoid INSS benefit suspension

Lawyer Joseane Zanardi Parodi, a member of the special commission on social security law at the OAB/SP, reinforces the importance of policyholders keeping their registration updated with the INSS and the federal government to avoid cases like that of the retired woman from Pará.

“The insured person, retiree or pensioner has to keep all contacts, such as address, telephone, email and even email of family members they are using for this, always updated in the database of these bodies, because if there is any indication of fraud it will be communicated to make your defense”, he explains.

The jurist explains that the social security body cannot suspend the benefit without first communicating to the insured what discrepancies were found in the data system so that he can present his defense.

“In these cases, the INSS sends a letter of notification which must state which irregularities were found and inform a period of 30 days for him to appear to present his defense”.

She also cites a very common situation, which can lead to the suspension of the benefit. Many retirees, who receive through account credit, do not check whether the payment is being deposited regularly.

“The orientation is always to look at the statement to verify the deposits, because if there is no movement in the account for six months, the payment can be suspended”

According to the INSS, suspension of benefits is common and only occurs on suspicion of death.

Data from March of this year show that 14,891 benefits were suspended in Brazil because they were identified as deaths in the Federal Revenue database. Of these, 47 were in Pará. The remainder was proven through a death certificate registered in the National Civil Registry Information System.

The INSS advises that, if the beneficiary has the payment suspended due to problems with the CPF, contact the Federal Revenue of Brazil to verify what happened, before requesting the reactivation of the benefit by the INSS, since it is this body that is responsible for validate this document.

Further information on reactivating the benefit can be obtained through the agency’s official website.