The Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social (English: National Social Security Institute) or INSS is a Brazilian government agency linked to the Ministry of Labor and Employment that collects contributions for the maintenance of the General Social Security System (RGPS), which is responsible for paying retirement pensions, maternity, death, reclusion, sickness and accident benefits, and other services belonging to the core of Exclusive State Activities, for those who are entitled to these benefits in accordance with the law. The INSS works in conjunction with Dataprev, the technology company that processes all social security data. Besides the General System, states and municipalities can establish their own systems financed by specific contributions.
History
The INSS was created by the Federal Decree No. 99.350 of 27 June 1990, which merged the Instituto de Administração Financeira da Previdência e Assistência Social (English: Financial Administration of Social Security and Assistance), or IAPAS, and the Instituto Nacional de Previdência Social (English: National Social Security Institute), or INPS. It is responsible for implementing the protection of the rights of the clients of the General Social Security System (RGPS), which currently covers more than 40 million taxpayers, as well as helping to minimize social inequalities. The institute has an administrative staff of almost 18,000 active employees, located in all parts of the country, who provide face-to-face assistance to more than four million people every month. It has a highly diversified network of around 1,500 service units, known as Social Security Agencies (APS), present in every state of the Federation. The Executive Offices (GEX) total 104, distributed into sectors and sub-sectors. The income paid by the Social Security system is used to ensure the support of the worker and their family when they lose their ability to work due to illness, accident, pregnancy, imprisonment, death or old age. However, despite the social benefits, specialists point out that the INSS is in deficit. On 17 June 2015, then-president Dilma Rousseff signed the Federal Law 13,135, which established adjustment measures to reduce costs.
Instituto Nacional de Assistência Médica da Previdência Social
The Instituto Nacional de Assistência Médica da Previdência Social (English: National Institute of Social Security Medical Assistance), or INAMPS, was a federal agency created in 1977 and abolished in 1993. Also in 1977, the Federal Law No. 6,439 established the Sistema Nacional de Previdência e Assistência Social (English: National Welfare and Social Assistance System), or SINPAS, in order to create a new model for the social security system focused on the specialization and integration of different activities and institutions. Under this system, the Instituto Nacional de Previdência Social (INPS) only kept the power to grant benefits, while INAMPS was responsible for providing medical assistance to insured people and the Instituto de Administração Financeira da Previdência e Assistência Social (IAPAS) was responsible for financial management. At the beginning of 1985, the Federal Police exposed INAMPS' fraudulent scheme with around 30 hospitals out of the 179 affiliated, revealing a shortfall of around Cr$1.5 trillion. The fraud included the false issuance of hospital admissions and non-existent appointments. Since 1988, the SUS has been responsible for public health care, based on the Article 198 of the Federal Constitution, which states that health is a universal right. INAMPS was abolished in 1993 by the Federal Law No. 8,689, and its powers were distributed among the federal, state and municipal SUS management bodies.
Collection of contributions Part of the contributions are deducted from the payroll before the employee receives their full salary. However, there is a maximum limit for INSS deductions and the discount percentages depend on each person's salary. When the employee's salary is higher than the maximum contribution limit, it is only allowed to deduct an established amount, called the cap. Even if the worker earns more, they cannot contribute more. Social security laws change quite frequently, so the current table of INSS deductions from salary is:
Maximum deduction limit: R$642.34; Amount deducted together with dependents for income tax calculation; In addition to the amount deducted at source, the company has to pay 20% of the payroll as INSS, regardless of whether there are salaries above the maximum cap. In other words, there is the employer's deduction and the employee's deduction; There are different contribution rates for Individual Contributors. In that case, the highest amount is 20% of the desired contribution salary, where the minimum cannot be less than the salary cap and the maximum is the social security cap, which in 2019 was R$5.839,45. For those who wish to contribute the minimum wage and give up the option of retiring by contribution time, there is the option of paying 11% of the minimum wage. The Federal Law No. 12,470 of 31 August 2011 introduced a contribution rate of 5% of the minimum wage for all citizens who do not work, have no income of their own, belong to a low-income family and are registered in the Federal Government's Single Registry for Social Programs. For Individual Contributors, there is also the option of formalizing as a small business owner and becoming an Individual Microentrepreneur (MEI), so the contribution to the INSS becomes 5% of the minimum wage.
Types of contributors
Compulsory insurance Compulsory insured workers are all those listed in the Article 11 of the Federal Law 8,213 of 24 July 1991.
Employee: in general terms, anyone who works for a company, subordinate to it, for remuneration; Domestic worker: anyone who works in a home, for an individual or family, on a non-profit basis; Freelance worker: a person who occasionally works for one or more companies, for remuneration, intermediated by a Labor Management Body or union of the category; Individual contributor: a person who works for one or more companies, for remuneration, on their own behalf; Special insured: small farmers and fishermen;
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