Minister took about ten months to take the first measures after a report by Tonia Galleti, from the National Union of Retirees, Pensioners and the Elderly
The Minister of Social Security, would have been warned in June 2023 on reports of irregular discounts on retirement and pensions of the (National Institute of Social Security), but took about ten months to take the first measures. Minutes of the National Council of Social Security, obtained by the press, show that Councilor Tonia Galleti, representative of Sindnapi (National Union of Retirees, Pensioners and Elderly), took the problem to the minister during a meeting of the Council, chaired by Lupi.
Galleti requested the inclusion of the theme on the agenda and requested information on the number of entities with technical cooperation agreements (ACTs) with the INSS, the growth of members and a regulation proposal to ensure more security for beneficiaries. Despite considering the relevant request, Lupi stated that a more accurate survey would be needed before any action and asked the matter to be based on the next meeting in July 2023. However, the issue was now postponed and was only effectively discussed in April 2024, already in the midst of the Union Comptroller General () and the Federal Police.
The discountless operation, launched this month, investigates frauds that would have diverted more than $ 6 billion benefits between 2019 and 2024. According to investigations, at least 11 associations are suspected of discounts without authorization from retirees and pensioners. So far, about $ 2 billion has been recovered, according to CGU. During the inaction period, CGU audit pointed out that the volume of discounts tripled, reaching almost R $ 250 million per month. The measures to harden the benefits discount rules were only implemented in March 2024, after pressure from the control agencies.
The crisis resulted in the departure of the president of the INSS, Alessandro Stefanutto, last Wednesday (23). Stefanutto had taken office in July 2023 and also faced a growing line of requests at the Institute, from 1.7 million to 2 million requirements to December last year. In response, Carlos Lupi stated that the INSS began internal audits from the complaints and that the new regulation was completed in March this year, with the publication of normative instruction establishing more rigid rules for discounts.
Posted by Felipe Dantas
*Report produced with the aid of AI
