TCU finds 80 million errors in the registration of INSS pensions

The TCU (Union Court of Auditors) identified 80 million errors in the Cnis (National Registry of Social Information), which is the main basis for the release of INSS (National Social Security Institute) benefits and gathers 416.5 million records.

The analysis of the documents, which began in June 2021 and has not yet come to an end, aims to assess the quality of the registration data and the “impact on the granting of social security, assistance and labor benefits”, according to information contained in the process.

The Cnis is the document that records the contributions made by the insured to the INSS and is a reference for calculating retirement. To get at the flaws, court auditors analyzed a sample of 300,000 records. The main error is linked to incomplete, invalid and inconsistent data that can lead the insured to receive a smaller pension from the INSS or have the benefit denied.

There are also failures that involve link inconsistencies in the registration of the same person who has different TINs (Worker Identification Numbers) and, finally, active TINs of people who have died, with almost two million having died in the last five years.

The analysis involved the INSS and Dataprev (a government technology company), which is responsible for the registration, in addition to the TCU itself. The court asked the bodies for access to the data in early June 2021, but given the complexity of the measure, INSS and Dataprev asked for more time.

With the difficulties in releasing the data, court technicians were able to access the database for themselves to analyze and extract the information. The biggest impediment, according to a preliminary report included in the process, was the so-called Cnis VCR, which is the register of bonds, remuneration and contributions. The reason is that this registry has a base with many records.

According to lawyer Adriane Bramante, president of the IBDP (Brazilian Institute of Social Security Law), the registration has many flaws, but it was an evolution when compared to the physical documents used previously in the request for social security benefits.

“The Cnis unified data from Caixa, Previdência, Ministry of Labor and others. The only problem is that it is considered by the INSS as robust evidence in the request for the benefit. There are cases in which the INSS considers the Cnis more than the insured person’s work card “, she says.

Cnis base has 440 million registrations, says INSS

In a note, the INSS states that it responded to the official letter of the Federal Audit Court within the prescribed period and is awaiting a further analysis by the body. Regarding the errors found, the institute says that “there is already a continuous work by the INSS to qualify the Cnis registration database together with Dataprev”.

The agency also informs that the Cnis currently has a base of 440 million entries and, if errors are found, the insured can request the correction of the data at any time, through Meu INSS, through the website or application. It is necessary to send the documents that prove the information provided and request the Cadastral Update service.

The register that unifies the social information of policyholders and companies was created about four decades ago, in 1989. In 1992, this base was renamed Cnis and was fed with information from various bodies. The register contains data on employment relationships since 1976, monthly remunerations since 1990 and individual taxpayers’ payments since 1979.

“Data from civil registration and other sources are an integral part of the Cnis, which is received daily and used in processes that are ancillary to the Social Security platform, qualifying the results with updated data.”