Learn how to prove contribution time to retire by the INSS

When applying for retirement at the INSS (National Social Security Institute), it is important that the documents necessary to prove the contribution period are presented at the beginning of the process. Otherwise, the start date of retroactive payments may be affected when the insured gets the benefit.

Before decree 10.410, of June 30, 2020, retroactive payments were paid from the date of the administrative request, even if an entirely new document was presented to the process. Now, extra attention is needed on the part of the insured, explains Roberto de Carvalho Santos, a lawyer specializing in social security law and president of Ieprev (Institute of Social Security Studies).

“The tip we give is: present everything from the first moment, when you apply for the INSS. You can add new elements to the Appeals Council, ask for new things, present new documents, but now, with this decree, you can do without the tardies.”

What is considered a new document?

“The issue of the new element must be interpreted as a completely new situation, in which the INSS could not, with its databases, demand that regularization from the insured”, says Santos. Thus, a rectified document, for example, does not fit as new.

An example is the PPP (Profile Profissiográfica Social Security), commonly used to prove special time. If the insured presented the PPP and the INSS signals that a signature was missing, another document must be delivered; but this does not make it new.

The situation is different if there was no presentation of the PPP in administrative proceedings and it is presented for the first time on appeal. “This changes everything, increases the contribution time, and can be interpreted as a new element”, says Santos.

In cases of registration errors and pending issues, the INSS may send a letter of demand asking for regularization. In this situation, the requested documents are not considered new.

INSS releases requested retirement in 2019

An example is the case of Clelia Ximenes Igreja, 65, who applied for retirement in March 2019. Of her 19 years of contribution, only 11 were linked to the NIT (Worker Identification Number).

Her son Anderson assisted her in the process. He states that, as supporting documentation, they gathered the professional card, all the booklets and a 1996 INSS letter informing about the change in the NIT, which contained the 11 recognized contributions.

When appearing at the INSS with the documents, he was recommended to wait for the institute’s decision to bind them. “That’s what I did, thinking that they would apply before denying retirement. When they denied it, I already had everything in hand and I made the appeal request after two days, digitizing everything.”

Clelia was able to prove the period worked, with the exception of six months prior to the creation of her work card. The judgment went to the second instance of the CRPS (Social Security Appeals Council) and was concluded in November 2021, deciding on the provision of retirement. Since then, however, Clelia has not had a response from the INSS.

After contacting the report from the Sheet, the INSS informed that the retirement was granted last Friday, July 1st. “We inform you that the INSS complied with the decision of the 3rd Judgment Chamber of the Social Security Appeals Council and granted the retirement of Ms. Clelia Ximenes Igreja on July 1, 2022, with payment retroactive to March 1, 2019.”

The institute informed that the benefit will be available for receipt at the bank from July 19 and that the insured can consult the grant letter and the benefit payment statement through INSS remote channels (site gov.br/meuinss, My INSS cell phone or by phone 135).

How to make a complaint against the INSS?

Send an email to [email protected], with a summary of the case, full name and CPF number.

What documents to present to prove time of contribution?

Santos says that the first step for anyone seeking retirement is to check the Cnis (National Registry of Social Information). It is only necessary to add the supporting document of what is not in the register.

“If the Cnis has any irregularities, for example, without an end date or without a link to the work card, you present that documentation.”

According to Santos, in most cases there is a problem; its verification can be aided by the indicators that appear at the end of the register itself.

“For example, the Cnis can have the contract, but not the remuneration, then you will have to present the paychecks. There are Cnis that have no problem. Are they rare? They are. So you don’t need to present a work card, nothing, absolutely nothing, because the documentation is correct.”

But for certain retirement applications, even if there are no errors in the Cnis, it is necessary to present other documents. “There is no PPP at Cnis, no special time, no apprenticeship time, no rural time. So if you want to increase your time, you need to present more documents. It depends on the case.”

How to rectify the situation?

The documents listed in article 48 of Normative Instruction 128 can be presented to regularize the situation. Are they:

• CP (Professional Card) or CTPS (Work and Social Security Card)
• Original or certified copy of the Employee Registration Form or Employee Registration Book, where the worker is registered, accompanied by a statement provided by the company, signed and identified by the person in charge
• Individual employment contract
• Collective labor agreement, characterizing the worker as a signatory and proving his registration with the respective DRT (Delegacia Regional do Trabalho)
• Term of contractual termination or proof of receipt of the FGTS (Service Time Guarantee Fund)
• Analytical extract of linked FGTS account, stamped and signed by an employee of Caixa Econômica Federal, containing data on the employer, date of admission, termination, dates of deposits and monetary restatement of the balance referring to the proof period
• Payment receipts contemporary to the alleged fact, with identification of the employer and employee
• Certified copy of the card, book or time sheet, accompanied by a statement provided by the company, signed and identified by the person responsible
• Other physical documents that can prove the exercise of activity in the company

In the absence of these documents, other elements may be necessary. “Regulating the Cnis is not always a simple thing, and it can even complement documentary evidence with testimonial evidence”, says Santos.

“In some cases, you won’t need to do much. In others, you’ll need to tinker with Cnis a lot”, says the lawyer.