A previdência social no Brasil: tendências e desafios

Abstract

This article presents the main data regarding the situation of Brazilian social security. After showing the general characteristics of the organization of the country's social security system, the text sets out the main trends observed over the last few decades, with data that, in some cases, date back to the early 1980s, highlighting the role of demographics. Attention is drawn, in particular, to the expansion of expenditure by the National Social Security Institute (INSS), which, after having been 2.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 1988, when the Constitution was approved, has recently reached around 8% of the GDP. Together with an analysis of the growth in welfare expenditures under the Continuous Cash Benefit Programme of the Organic Social Assistance Law (BPC-Loas), it is explained that, despite the relevance of the 2019 pension reform, the country still faces significant challenges in this area, and it is necessary to prepare for a new round of parametric changes, if not in the rest of the decade, certainly in 2030, in light of current demographic trends.