SDG 1 – No poverty

• Target 1.1 – By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day.
  • Indicator 1.1.1 – Proportion of the population living below the international poverty line by sex, age, employment status and geographical location (urban/rural)
• Target 1.2 – By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.
  • Indicator 1.2.1 – Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age
  • Indicator 1.2.2 – Proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions
• Target 1.3 – Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.
  • Indicator 1.3.1 – Proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newborns, work-injury victims and the poor and the vulnerable

SDG 2 – Zero hunger

• Target 2.1 – By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.
  • Indicator 2.1.1 – Prevalence of undernourishment
  • Indicator 2.1.2 – Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)
• Target 2.2 – By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons.
  • Indicator 2.2.1 – Prevalence of stunting (height for age <-2 standard deviation from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age
  • Indicator 2.2.2 – Prevalence of malnutrition (weight for height >+2 or <-2 standard deviation from the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age, by type (wasting and overweight)
  • Indicator 2.2.3 – Prevalence of anaemia in women aged 15 to 49 years, by pregnancy status (percentage)

SDG 4 – Quality education

• Target 4.3 – By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university
  • Indicator 4.3.1 – Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, by sex
• Target 4.4 – By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
  • Indicator 4.4.1 – Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill
• Target 4.5 – By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations
  • Indicator 4.5.1 – Parity indices (female/male, rural/urban, bottom/top wealth quintile and others such as disability status, indigenous peoples and conflict-affected, as data become available) for all education indicators on this list that can be disaggregated

SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth

• Target 8.5 – By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
  • Indicator 8.5.1 – Average hourly earnings of female and male employees, by occupation, age and persons with disabilities
  • Indicator 8.5.2 – Unemployment rate, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

SDG 10 – Reducing inequalities

• Target 10.1 – By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average
  • Indicator 10.1.1 – Growth rates of household expenditure or income per capita among the bottom 40 per cent of the population and the total population
• Target 10.2 – By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
  • Indicator 10.2.1 – Proportion of people living below 50 per cent of median income, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

The Continuous Cash Benefit (Benefício de Prestação Continuada – BPC) is a cash transfer of one minimum wage (equivalent to R$ 1.621,00 BRL in nominal values in 2026) provided to individuals aged 65 or older, or individuals of any age with disabilities, provided they meet certain criteria, such as long-term disabilities that affect the ability to fully participate in society, due to physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments lasting at least two years. Additionally, beneficiaries belong to families with a per capita family income that is less than ¼ of the minimum wage. As eligibility is determined by per capita family income, the program ends up prioritizing families with higher dependency rates, particularly those with children.

• To be eligible for the program, individuals must be registered and have their registration up-to-date in the [[Brazil:Single Registry|Single Registry for Social Programs of the Federal Government (CadÚnico)]], which is a fundamental instrument for collecting information on, and to identify, low-income families and individuals. By registering with Single Registry, the family or individual will have greater contact with the Public Authorities which in turn facilitates referral and access to BPC and other social programs to which a given individual may be eligible;
• Inclusion in the Single Registry and the application to access the BPC are carried out through direct contact between the citizen and the Public Authorities, without any need for intermediaries;
• Selection is operationalized through the analysis of income criteria provided for by law as well as through biopsychosocial assessment of disability, carried out by medical professionals and social workers from the National Social Security Institute (INSS). The income criteria are verified through cross-referenced data from various administrative records;
• The overall operationalization of the BPC (i.e. inclusion in the Single Registry, application, analysis of criteria, granting, payment and review of the benefit) is a thorough process that involves public authorities of the municipal and federal government. This includes social workers and other specialized professionals of the municipal [[Brazil:Social Assistance Reference Center (CRAS)|Reference Center for Social Assistance (CRAS)]], as well as specialists of the INSS (National Social Security Institute), DATAPREV (public tech company) and the Ministry of Social Development and Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger (MDS);
• Individuals who had their request denied administratively, may request access through Judiciary;
• BPC beneficiaries are prioritized in Social Assistance services, so as to promote an integrated approach of income benefits and inclusive access to social assistance services and other public policies, with a view to promote social protection and inclusion, improved life quality and reduced inequalities. This approach is operationalized through intersectoral referrals and coordination across sectors and services;
• To further ensure cross-sectoral coordination and to promote universal education, the BPC programme includes a component known as BPC at School which focuses on supporting children and adolescents with disabilities through active search and school retention mechanisms;
• BPC also includes an Inclusion Aid “Auxílio Inclusão”   which seeks to promote access of BPC beneficiaries with disabilities to vocational qualifications and to the labor market. The disabled beneficiary who enters the labour market has the benefit suspended for the duration of the paid activity. If the professional activity is interrupted, the beneficiary may request to reactivate the benefit payment. In the case of apprentice salary, the beneficiary may accumulate the apprentice salary with the BPC benefit for up to two years;
• The BPC also promote access to vocational training for BPC recipients with disabilities throught the Inclusion Allowance. This benefit is designed to support and encourage people with disabilities to enter the labour market. When a person with a disability, who is already receiving the BPC, starts work, they begin to receive, every month, an amount equivalent to half the minimum wage. At this point, the BPC is suspended and the person begins to receive the Inclusion Allowance, which is paid alongside their earnings from work.
• In response to the Zika outbreak and the subsequent rise in cases of microcephaly among infants in 2016, regulations were implemented to give priority to families with these diagnoses under the BPC program;
• When calculating the income criteria for BPC eligibility, the income of other family members receiving BPC or social security benefits to the amount of up to one minimum wage is not considered. Benefits from cash transfer programs, such as the Bolsa Familia cash transfer programme, temporary welfare benefits, or remuneration of disabled individuals that work as apprentices or trainees are also excluded from the calculation. Additionally, amounts spent on items such as medicines, medical appointments, treatments, diapers, and specialized food products are withdrawn from the income calculation;
• In the case of BPC beneficiaries living in municipalities affected by public calamities (recognized as such by the Federal Government), the benefit payment can be anticipated;
• Eligibility is not restricted to family households. As long as the criteria are met, people that live in institutional shelter services and/or communal housing services (or similar), are also eligible to receive the benefit;
• With regards to payments, these are made through the Banking System or bank correspondents through direct transfers, preferably to an already existing bank account of the beneficiary;
• Since BPC coverage is a mandatory and non-fluctuating expenditure, it remains unaffected by changes in the country’s macroeconomic situation. This makes the benefit budgetary-resilient.

• Continuous Cash Benefit (BPC) is a constitutional right, as per the 1988 Federal Constitution. The link to the minimum wage in the Federal Constitution protects the real value of the benefit, as the minimum wage must be readjusted every year to guarantee purchasing power. Furthermore, the provision in the Constitution guaranteed greater legal security to the benefit, making it a benefit that must be paid to everyone who is entitled to it;
• BPC was the subject of two recent social security reform proposals that sought to change the benefit through proposed Constitutional Amendments. The proposals sought to delink the value of the benefit from the minimum wage and raise the age of elderly people for access. However, the legislative branch concluded to withdraw the BPC from the reform, given its relevance for protecting elderly people and people with disabilities in situations of poverty, especially in contexts of economic crisis.
• The aging of the Brazilian population is a point of attention to the need to expand social protection, especially in scenarios of economic crises, which may lead to the reduction of jobs and a possible increase in the demand for non-contributory benefits.
• The experience of BPC shows that changes to eligibility criteria may lead to inconsistencies and uncertainties. Hence the importance of ensuring clear and consistent criteria that leave little room for varying interpretations.  
• Whereas thorough assessment processes provide evidence that help ensure accuracy in selection, they may at the same time be time consuming and may come to represent a burden to the programme and on beneficiaries.

Social registry; Disability benefits

• Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA)
• National School of Public Administration (ENAP)
• Department for Evaluation, Information Management and the Single Registry (SAGICAD) of the Ministry of Social Development and Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger (MDS)

Continuous Cash Benefit (BPC) is a benefit financed by the federal government. Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger (MDS) is responsible for managing the benefit, while the National Social Security Institute (INSS) is responsible for its operationalization.

Governance is centralized in federal government bodies and supported by municipalities in line with the different stages of operationalization, as detailed below:

• Inclusion in the [[Brazil:Single Registry|Single Registry]] is processed at the municipal [[Brazil:Social Assistance Reference Center (CRAS) – PAIF (Protection and Integral Support Service for the Family)|Social Assistance Reference Centers (CRAS)]];
• Formalization of application for access to the BPC is operationalized by the INSS through service channels (smartphone application, telephone, internet). The applicant may count on assistance of a CRAS professional to complete the application;
• The biopsychosocial assessment of disability is carried out by social workers and medical experts from the INSS. Disability is assessed according to the biopsychosocial model of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by Brazil by Decree No. 6,949, of August 25, 2009, and considers long-term bodily impairments and barriers that prevent full social participation in society;
• Eligibility analysis is processed by INSS to assess whether the applicant meets the access criteria and whether the beneficiary continues to meet the grant criteria;
• Benefit payments are made by the INSS through bank transfer;
• Information processing is handled by Pension Technology and Information Company (DATAPREV);
• INSS informs MDS about new and maintained beneficiaries.

Whereas Social Assistance Councils at National, State and Municipal level ensure oversight and social accountability, BPC is also subject to audits and supervision by national competent bodies.

Currently, Continuous Cash Benefit (BPC) has 5,841,141 beneficiaries (as of March 2024).

• Elderly people: 2,622,848
• People with Disabilities: 3,218,293

The elderly population in Brazil has 84.6% coverage in accessing benefits (social security or social assistance).

It is not yet possible to project the number of people with disabilities not covered, however a new model for biopsychosocial assessment of disability is about to be implemented, which will enable the implementation of a national registry.

• The cost of paying the Continuous Cash Benefit (BPC) to more than 5.8 million beneficiaries is approximately R$ 8 billion reais (approx. U$$ 1.6 billion dollars) per month.
• The annual budget is R$ 100 billion reais (around U$$ 19 billion dollars). These expenditures include operational costs, maintenance, and benefit payments.

• Information about Continuous Cash Benefit (BPC) beneficiaries is available at the Federal Government’s Transparency Portal
• To access beneficiary data, BPC uses the Single Registry (CadÚnico) and INSS databases, generated by DATAPREV.
• To assess eligibility and to monitor the benefit, data is cross-checked across several data bases, including:
  • CadÚnico;
  • Maciça (INSS payroll, with detailed records on payments);
  • Mantidos (contains BPC historical data, including on benefit interruption and suspension);
  • Payment Agents (list of units that perform payments of BPC and other benefits, such as the Lifetime Monthly Income (Renda Mensal Vitalícia) and the inclusion allowance (Auxílio Inclusão)).

Systems such as the Unified Benefits Information System (BI with benefit information) and BGINSS (system used to extract information from applications – that is, those that have not yet been granted and/or those not approved) are also used for programme monitoring and information management.

Programs and Actions Report

BPC/MDS – Detailed information on benefit payments, at municipal, state and level. Quantity of benefits and resources invested by payment federation unit in the period from 1996 to 2024.

https://www.gov.br/mds/pt-br/acoes-e-programas/suas/beneficios-assistenciais/beneficio-assistencial-ao-idoso-e-a-pessoa-com-deficiencia-bpc