INCARCERATION BENEFIT: AN INSTRUMENT OF SOCIAL INCLUSION AND PROTECTION FOR INSURED DEPENDENTS

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of the social security benefit known as "auxílio-reclusão" (incarceration aid), as provided for in the Brazilian Federal Constitution and regulated by Law No. 8,213/1991, in light of its social function. The benefit is granted to the dependents of low-income insured individuals who are incarcerated, with the purpose of ensuring their subsistence during the provider’s period of imprisonment. The research adopts a qualitative and quantitative approach, based on literature review and documentary analysis, focusing on data from the National Social Security Institute (INSS) and the National System of Penal Information (Sisdepen). The analysis shows that benefit concessions represent a small percentage of the prison population, contradicting stigmatizing public discourses regarding its alleged misuse. Furthermore, it is noted that legal requirements – such as the insured status, the individual low-income criterion, and the proof of economic dependency – act as barriers to access, especially after the legislative changes introduced by Law No. 13,846/2019. The study concludes that, although financially insignificant in the overall budget of the Social Security system, the incarceration aid plays an important role in protecting the rights of dependents in social vulnerability, and highlights the need to broaden public debate on its importance as a tool for social justice and the enforcement of fundamental rights.