Active return of discounted social security values can avoid excess cases in court and increased costs
The undue discount scheme investigated by the PF (Federal Police) on April 23, 2025 has the potential to be the largest social security fraud since the 1990s. The comparison is by the Professor of the FGV (Getúlio Vargas Foundation) Rio, Luis Felipe Lopes Martins.
Martins compares the investigation with the case of former social security attorney Jorgina de Freitas, convicted of diverting R $ 2 billion social security in 1992. The episode became known as the “Social Security Scandal”.
This time, however, the estimated loss of R $ 6.5 billion In improper discounts on Retirement and Pensions of the INSS (National Institute of Social Security) from 2019 to 2024.
In partnership with the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union), the PF served 211 search and seizure court orders, orders of kidnapping of assets in the amount of more than R $ 1 billion and 6 temporary arrest warrants. The president of the institute, Alessandro Stefanutto, was fired from office.
Another measure adopted by the government after the disclosure of the operation was that of all agreements involving direct discounts on monthly fees of associations in retirement and pensions.
CGU Minister Vinicius de Carvalho, also that the government will reimburse all irregular discounts. It did not explain how, however. He mentioned that one of the alternatives is to use the resources blocked during the investigation and reported that the value is $ 2 billion. It is not known, however, what the size of the breakthrough.
The government states that of the 40 million people benefited by the INSS, 6 million had discounts. What is not known is still how many of these were irregular. The CGU says 97.6% of retirees and pensioners had discounts not authorized in their benefits to pay unions and associations.
The government’s economic team since reimbursement may require relocations in the federal budget. It means that, of the $ 6.5 billion that the government cannot recover for investigations, the rest will have to be disbursed by the public coffers to pay off the compensation.
In the evaluation of experts heard by the Poder360however, the figure of the damage may be greater.
According to the chairman of the OAB-SP Social Security Law Commission (Brazilian Bar Association of São Paulo), Joseane Parodi, lawsuits requesting the compensation of improper discounts would not begin to emerge after investigations. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has 1,120 processes involving social security deductions, including income calculation problems, illegal benefit accumulation and discount interruption.
Parodi explains that, in these cases, lawyers have requested the return of double values, in addition to compensation for moral damages, which are no more than R $ 5,000, and civil and social accountability. The chairman of the OAB-SP commission states that the passive pole often depends on the judge’s understanding. There are those who include the INSS as responsible and those that include only the entity that has practiced the discount.
Fraud responsible
The INSS and the associations that have practiced discounts should enter as responsible parties in court cases. In the opinion of Martins, there are elements in the PF investigation that are able to indicate that the Institute “It acted at least, omitted in your duty to operationalize the agreements by not overseeing associative discounts.”.
For Martins, those responsible for the associations may be responsible for typical crimes of the anti -corruption law, which would imply a fine, sanction by the administrative sphere, impediment or suspension of activities.
Already against public agents that remain proven fraud or omissions can weigh actions of administrative misconduct due to damage to the purse or illicit enrichment. It can also imply functional liability.
Against the social security institute itself, once the fraud is proven, the INSS may be the target of actions filed by retirees and pensioners in the Federal Court.
RETURN OF VALUES
Martins, however, evaluates that the government agreed to indicate that it would make returns in a centralized and unified manner. According to FGV Rio professor, individual actions would create a high number of demands that the INSS would not be able to resolve.
“I see that this can happen first at the initiative of the government itself, together with the Federal Public Prosecution Service, with public advice, with CGU and other bodies, to do an identification and return operation. I think this would be the best format possible. And if this is not enough, or if the prosecutor also see, perhaps the clearer procedural mechanism would be a clearer civil action.”declared to this digital newspaper.
According to the teacher, it is difficult to estimate what government costs would be with returns. However, the parameters must be the discounts added to legal costs, any double payment and payment at moral damages.
Martins stated that the INSS already has similar experience in calculation revisions that could be applied in the case of returns.
“There are cases where there was a review that was recognized in the context of a public civil action. It was not a return, but a review, where there was a miscalculation of the benefits the INSS did it in a centralized and unified manner. It is not unheard of for the social security experience.”he declared.
Another way out not to cram the judiciary with individual actions would be the extrajudicial route, through the consumer organs. According to Parodi, the resolution would happen similarly to telephone companies, when users are improperly charged and open a complaint on the corporation’s own channels.
Guidelines for beneficiaries
The government’s guidance to beneficiaries is that if they identify improper discounts of associative monthly payment in the payment statement (paycheck), make the request for exclusion through the application or website “”.
Exclusion should be automatic and can be performed without the need to attend in person.
The chairman of the OAB-SP Social Security Law stresses that the habit of checking the channel’s credit history can prevent a number of problems “Not only an improper discount of an entity, but eventually if there is a fraudulent consignment or even an INSS error”.
