Continuous Benefit Payment (BPC)

What is the Continuous Benefit Payment (BPC)?

The Continuous Benefit Payment, popularly known as LOAS, is a monthly benefit equivalent to one minimum wage paid to people with disabilities and the elderly who prove they do not have the means to provide for their own maintenance or have it provided by their family . It can therefore be divided into two types:

• Social Assistance Benefit for the Elderly : granted to senior citizens aged 65 and over;

• Disability Assistance Benefit: intended for those who have long-term physical, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others ( Article 20, §2 of Law 8.742/93 ).

Value of the Welfare Benefit.

The value of the Welfare Benefit will always be one national minimum wage ( art. 20, § 14, Law 8.742/93 ).

Requirements for Granting Welfare Benefits.

To receive the Welfare Benefit, senior citizens must be 65 years of age or older and prove that they are in a state of poverty or need. On the other hand, people with disabilities must prove, in addition to the socioeconomic requirement, that they have some type of disability, understood as a long-term impairment of a physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory nature that, in interaction with one or more barriers, may obstruct their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

Therefore, the welfare benefit cannot be suspended without notice and has the following requirements:

Social Assistance Benefit for the Elderly :

• To be over 65 years old ;

• Not having the means to provide for one's own maintenance, or not having it provided by one's family - a state of poverty or need .

  
  

Assistance benefit for people with disabilities :

• Having a disability of any kind (long-term physical, intellectual or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others ( art. 20, §2 of Law 8.742/93 ));

• Long-term impediment exceeding 2 years ( art. 20, §§ 2 and 10 of Law 8.742/93 );

• Not having the means to provide for one's own maintenance, or not having it provided by one's family - a state of poverty or need .

  
  

To be eligible for the Assistance Benefit, a person must be 65 years of age or older and prove that they are in a state of poverty or need. Furthermore, people with disabilities must prove, in addition to the socioeconomic requirement, that they have some type of disability, understood as a long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairment that, in interaction with one or more barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. Therefore, those applying for the benefit cannot have their own income!

What constitutes a disability for the purposes of granting BPC/LOAS benefits?

The Organic Law of Social Assistance - LOAS (Law 8.742/93) provides:

Article 20. […] § 2 For the purpose of granting the continuous benefit, a person with a disability is considered to be one who has a long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairment which, in interaction with one or more barriers, may obstruct their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. (Wording given by Law No. 13.146, of 2015) (Effective date)

It is observed that both physically and mentally disabled individuals can receive the welfare benefit from birth. The new wording of §2 of article 20 of Law 8.742/93 now only requires that the person with a disability have long-term impairments that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

Household Income.

As mentioned, one of the requirements for receiving welfare benefits is not having the means to provide for one's own maintenance, or having it provided by one's family. Therefore, we must question what criteria are used to verify this socioeconomic requirement.

Law 8.742/93 establishes monthly income as a parameter for determining social vulnerability, as stated in paragraph 3 of article 20 .

§ 3. Subject to the other eligibility criteria defined in this Law, persons with disabilities or elderly persons with a monthly per capita family income equal to or less than 1/4 (one quarter) of the minimum wage shall be entitled to the financial benefit referred to in the heading of this article . (Wording given by Law No. 14,176, of 2021)

Although the legislation establishes this legal criterion of presumed economic vulnerability, case law , despite considerable debate on the matter, establishes more flexible criteria for proving the state of social vulnerability necessary for granting the benefit.

In this regard, we have the Decision in RE 567985 of 18/04/2013 which gave rise to General Repercussion Theme No. 27, let us see:

[...] 3. Judicial decisions contrary to the pre-established objective criteria and the process of declaring the criteria defined by Law 8.742/1993 unconstitutional. The decision of the Supreme Federal Court, however, did not end the controversy regarding the concrete application of the per capita family income criterion established by the LOAS (Organic Law of Social Assistance). As the law remained unchanged, ways were devised to circumvent the objective and sole criterion stipulated by the LOAS and to assess the real state of social destitution of families with elderly or disabled members. In parallel, laws were enacted that established more flexible criteria for granting other social assistance benefits, such as: Law 10.836/2004, which created Bolsa Família; Law 10.689/2003, which instituted the National Program for Access to Food; Law 10.219/01, which created Bolsa Escola; Law 9.533/97, which authorizes the Executive Branch to grant financial support to municipalities that establish minimum income guarantee programs associated with socio-educational actions. [...] ( RE 567985, Rapporteur: MARCO AURÉLIO, Rapporteur for the Judgment: GILMAR MENDES, Full Court, decided on 04/18/2013, ELECTRONIC JUDGMENT GENERAL REPERCUSSION - MERIT DJe-194 PUBLISHED 10/02/2013 PUBLIC 10/03/2013 RTJ VOL-00236-01 PP-00113 )

Who makes up the Family Group?

Section 1 of Article 20 of the LOAS (Organic Law of Social Assistance) defines that the family "is composed of the applicant, the spouse or partner, the parents and, in the absence of one of them, the stepmother or stepfather, the unmarried siblings, the unmarried children and stepchildren, and the minor wards, provided that they live under the same roof."

Therefore, only people who live under the same roof are considered part of the family group.

Failure to update registration in the CadÚnico system may result in the suspension of payments for the Social Assistance Benefit (BPC/LOAS).

As stipulated in article 12 of Decree 6.214/2007:

Article 12. The requirements for granting, maintaining, and reviewing the benefit are registration in the Individual Taxpayer Registry (CPF) and in the Single Registry for Social Programs of the Federal Government (CadÚnico).

§ 1 The beneficiary who fails to register or update their information in the CadÚnico will have their benefit suspended after the deadline established by law. (Wording given by Decree No. 9,462 of 2018)

§ 2 The benefit will be granted or maintained only when the CadÚnico is updated and valid , in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 6,135, of June 26, 2007. ( Wording given by Decree No. 9,462, of 2018)

In this regard, as stipulated in Article 12 of Decree 11.016/2022, which replaced Decree 6.135/2007, we have that:

Article 12. The information contained in the Single Registry (CadÚnico) must be updated or revalidated by the family every two years , counted from the date of inclusion or the last update or revalidation, in the manner established by an act of the Minister of State for Citizenship.

Therefore, registration and updating of registration information every 2 (two) years in the CadÚnico is fundamental for granting and maintaining benefits.

Furthermore, a new rule has recently been introduced making biometric registration mandatory for maintaining benefits.