The Chief Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa, stated, this Thursday (28), that the administrative measures that tighten access to the Continuous Payment Benefit (BPC) aim to guarantee compliance with the law and also reduce judicialization of the social program. According to him, of the 3 million disabled beneficiaries of the BPC, 1 million are not included in the International Disease Code (ICD) system, with 75% of these concessions occurring after a court decision.
“If a program is in the law, it is for people with disabilities. If the program is for disabled people, you need to know what the person’s disability is”, he said, announcing that, in 2025, BPC beneficiaries will undergo medical examination, “to ensure that those who are entitled continue to receive it and, eventually, those who were included who are not entitled do not receive.”
Currently, the program serves more than 6.02 million low-income citizens (with family income per capita equal to or less than a quarter of the minimum wage), among elderly people over 65 years of age and people with disabilities. Beneficiaries receive payment of a minimum wage.
To the hardening measures for access to BPC and Bolsa Família They are part of the mandatory spending cut package announced by the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, on Wednesday night (27) and detailed in a press conference this Thursday (28). Minister Rui Costa and other ministers from the economic area and political articulation participated in the press conference.
Single Registration
Since 2016, to receive the BPC, beneficiaries must be registered in the Single Registry for Social Programs (CadÚnico) and update their registration every two years. Rui Costa recalled that more than 500 thousand people were not registered, most of them included in the program under the last government.
The Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger (MDS) has been notifying these beneficiaries, who have a deadline for registration. The last balance showed that more than 300 thousand people They need to regularize the situation with CadÚnico to continue receiving the BPC.
The deadline is 45 to 90 days, depending on the municipality of residence, counting from the date of official notification to the BPC beneficiary, which can happen through the banking network or through other channels. Registration must be done with the social assistance network in the municipality of residence.
The Single Registry is a registry that allows the identification of low-income families in Brazil. It was created by the federal government, but is operationalized and updated by city halls, through the Unified Social Assistance System (Suas).
Speculations
During the press conference, Rui Costa defended President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s decision to exempt from Income Tax (IR), from 2026, taxpayers who receive up to R$5,000 per month. Currently, those who earn up to R$2,259.20 per month do not pay income tax.
The measure fulfills President Lula’s campaign promise in 2022. “The Brazilian people voted for this program. And, therefore, it was legitimized by the polls”, said Rui Costa, criticizing financial market speculation.
“What was said in the election campaign, what was said at the inauguration, is being fulfilled, there are no surprises. Economic agents and society are not being taken by surprise. If someone created an expectation that the announcement would be in January, and not in December, it was not President Lula who created this expectation”, he added.
Yesterday, expectations regarding the spending cut package caused a nervous day for the financial market. THE dollar surpassed the barrier of R$ 5.90 and closed at the highest price in the Plano Real. The Stock Exchange fell more than 1.5% and was below 128 thousand points.
