Emergency Aid – Understand Your Changes and How You Are Currently

O emergency aid approved by the national congress, in 2020 it benefited thousands of vulnerable families.

The project's proposal was to allocate emergency protection to informal workers, individual microentrepreneurs (MEI), self-employed and unemployed, to face the coronavirus pandemic.

However, many people took advantage of this benefit unduly.

Check the information.

The Beneficiary Class

The program, which was announced in April 2020, was intended to:

• people over 18 years old, except teenage mothers, who could receive it even though they are minors;
• people without a formal job, families with income above three minimum wages, which total R$ 3,135.00 (referring to the 2020 minimum wage), in this case the family income is divided by the number of people, not exceeding R$522.50 ;
• informal workers, that is, street vendors, and people who provide services without contributing to the INSS;
• MEI individual microentrepreneurs;
• unemployed, among others.

People who are already registered with Bolsa Família automatically receive all government benefits, just keep your data up to date with your city's CadÚnico.

If you do not receive it, look for a CRAS (Social Assistance Reference Center) unit for more information.

The Caixa Tem App

A partner of the Government in several projects, Caixa Econômica Federal, in turn, created an application so that request and payment services could be made without face-to-face assistance. Which would be right and convenient for the moment.

The application was downloaded by cell phones smartphones whose processors were ANDROID or IOS.

Through the application, the beneficiary could make purchases and pay with QR Code, pay their bills only with barcodes, transfer to another account and then request payment in cash.

This application was intended to reduce the number of people in queues at banks, lottery shops, which would be propitious scenarios for the spread of the disease.

In addition, the application would reduce the number of banknotes, which pass through countless hands, being another lovely scenario for the virus.

Due to the great demand for information, Caixa Econômica Federal, released a note stating that it was not responsible for evaluating requests for benefits, but that it was the institution responsible for distributing payments.

But even so, the queues were gigantic looking for information.

See also about the Bolsa Família benefit

Extended Benefit

Initially there would be 3 installments worth R$ 600.00, benefiting 1 person per family, so if more than one person in the family meets the criteria, the following tiebreaker rules would be applied to define who would be entitled to receive the benefit:

• female breadwinner of a single-parent family (head of household);
• family member starting with the eldest, preferably a woman;
• alphabetical order of name.

As the pandemic spread and cases of the disease multiplied, people who fit into the aforementioned categories were even more harmed. However, the government extended it for another 2 installments, totaling 5 installments of the benefit.

The program maintained the benefit, with extensions and ended with payments referring to ¼ of the initial value, being (R$ 300.00 for people who received R$ 1,200.00 and R$ 150.00 for those who received R$ 600.00), until the end of October 2021, with the last deposits made in November 2021.

In November 2021, the program was replaced by Auxílio Brasil. That benefits informal, low-income workers and also taxpayers of the National Social Security Institute (INSS) in a vulnerable situation, due to the pandemic caused by Covid-19.

Since then, Auxílio Brasil has replaced Auxílio Emergencial and Bolsa Família, a program created by the PT government – Workers’ Party.

Click and learn about the Bolsa do Povo Program:

Emergency Aid unduly paid

People who signed up for the program even though they did not meet the requirements, and were still approved and received these aid installments, will have to return it to the public coffers.

It was recently decreed that the emergency aid received unduly by thousands of people can be paid in up to 60 months in installments.

Signed by President Jair Bolsonaro, the decree establishes that the return can be made by payment in cash or in installments in up to 60 months.

The beneficiary will be informed of the return by electronic means, and will then be able to access the link on the page created exclusively for this condition whose email address is https://devolucaoauxilioemergencial.cidadania.gov.br/ .

It contains all the information about the installments that must be returned and their receipt conditions.

It is certain that when opting for the installment plan, the beneficiary will agree with the debt, and must fulfill the payment obligations, or his CPF will be registered in the active debt of the Union.

The beneficiary will be considered in default if he does not voluntarily return the amounts to the public coffers, with extrajudicial charges being applied from this position.

If you received the benefit, and do not agree with the debt, you will have the right to present your defense.

Even if you did not receive assistance, look for information to find out if you were not the victim of a scam, as they were recurring at the time.