Wolney Queiroz announces refund of amounts and sets June 20th as the deadline to complete reimbursements
O Ministry of Social Security compensated 4.5 million retirees and pensioners who were victims of fraudulent discounts on their benefits. The minister (PDT) announced this Wednesday (May 20, 2026) the return of the amounts during participation in the “Bom Dia, Minister” program, from Brazilian Communication Company. The government has set June 20 as the deadline to complete all outstanding reimbursements.
They were identified after No Discount Operationled by Federal Police and by Comptroller General of the Union. The investigation showed a billion-dollar scheme involving entities that deducted monthly payments from retirees and pensioners without the victims’ knowledge. Many beneficiaries believed that the discounts were mandatory.
The investigation into fraud began in 2023. The CGU carried out an audit of 29 entities that maintained Technical Cooperation Agreements with the INSS. The Comptroller found that 70% of these organizations had not delivered the necessary documentation to the institute. The entities investigated did not have an adequate operational structure to provide the services.
“By June 20th, we will be returning [os valores] to everyone who has the right and who comes to us”said Wolney Queiroz. The federal government extended the deadline for returns to March 2026.
New security measures
The INSS adopted new requirements to increase the security of beneficiaries. The institute started to require facial biometrics to release payroll loans. After requesting the amount from the bank, the Meu INSS application and website show the pending facial biometrics.
The beneficiary has up to 5 days to validate financing with facial recognition. After this period, the contract is automatically canceled. The new requirement complies with law 15,327/2026. Legislation prohibits concluding contracts over the telephone or by proxy.
Only the holder can authorize operations through official INSS digital channels. The objective is to avoid scams on loans discounted directly from the benefit.
The minister acknowledged that the measures made access difficult.
“Either we make it easier and do away with biometrics and become subject to fraud, or we restrict access and then it becomes a little more difficult for retirees and pensioners, but we guarantee that there is no fraud. That is the objective: to provide greater security”he stated.
The maximum term for debt payment increased from 96 to 108 months. Retirees can pay loans in up to 9 years in installments. Payment of the 1st installment can start in up to 3 months. The grace period comes into effect immediately after the credit is released to the account.
Queue reduction target
The Ministry of Social Security has set the goal of clearing the INSS queue by the end of 2026. The strategy is to maintain only the monthly flow of requests. Around 1.3 million new applications arrive at the INSS monthly.
“Our task is to keep this queue below 1.3 million. In other words, 1.3 million is just the month’s flow, there is nothing else, and below 45 days”said Wolney Queiroz. The objective is to reduce the waiting time for analyzing requests to less than 45 days.
The Minister of Social Security expressed his position against a new Social Security reform. Wolney Queiroz argued that this process ends up harming workers.
“She [a reforma] will take money from your salary so you can pay more. It will make the time to retire longer or increase the tax rate — or all 3. Normally, it’s up to you to pay this bill”he said, addressing the workers.
