The automatic assignment of family allowance in Portugal has been recognized as an innovative and efficient measure, to the point of being highlighted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in the “Global Trends in Government Innovation 2024 Report”. The system implemented by social security has significantly reduced the waiting time to grant this support to families, making the process faster and more accessible.
Automatic Assignment: An Innovation Model
According to the Social Security Institute (ISS)the implementation of this system allowed a considerable reduction in the family allowance processing, which 30 days for only 2 days.
“Social Security proactively sent the communication of the proposal to assign family allowance, shortly after the baby’s registration in the maternity ward.
The father or mother just have to consult their direct social security messaging area and confirm the proposal presented.
With this confirmation, the family allowance is automatically attributed, and no more action is required ”, can be read in the site do ISS.
This proactive assignment model allows families to have immediate access to unnecessary bureaucracies support, making life easier for parents at a crucial moment.
How does automatic family allowance work?
The automatic granting of family allowance occurs as soon as the child’s citizen card is issued, thanks to communication between registration services and notaries and social security. The process is triggered if the following requirements are met:
- The child and parents have to have Citizen card;
- The child and parents have to reside in Portugal;
- The child has to have born in the last six months;
- The child has to belong to the Parent aggregate or not registered in another household;
- At least one parent has to have ACCOUNT ACCOUNT IN SOCIAL SAFETY (SSD);
- Parents must belong to the even family aggregate or not have another family aggregate recorded;
- Parents must be over 18 (or between 16 and 18 years old, if married);
- Parents must be registered and discounting for social security;
- The household must be up to the 4th level of income.
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If all these conditions are verified, parents receive a direct social security message with a link to accept or refuse the attribution of family allowance. The proposal has 30 days to be validated.
International recognition and impact on families
The OECD included this innovation in its report because it considers that the Portuguese system demonstrates efficiency in the assignment of social support and reduces the bureaucratic burden to citizens.
The success of this initiative may even inspire other countries to adopt similar solutions to streamline administrative processes in the area of social protection.
In addition to international recognition, the main advantage for beneficiaries is to reduce waiting time, allowing for more fast financial support for families with newborn children.
Conclusion
Automatic family allowance represents a significant advance in the digitization and modernization of social security services.
With a reduced processing time to two days, this model stands out as an example of government innovation that simplifies the lives of citizens and ensures greater efficiency in the attribution of social benefits.
The measure was recognized by as an international reference, consolidating Portugal as a country that bets on digital solutions to improve access to social support.
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