TCU Keeps Previdenciary Benefits on High‑Risk List Over INSS Backlog

Overview

• The Tribunal de Contas da União decided on Tuesday to keep previdenciary benefits on the federal High‑Risk List because long waits and systemic weaknesses persist.
• INSS data presented at a CNPS meeting show the pending queue fell to about 1.282 million requisitions as of Aug. 24 and requests older than 45 days dropped to roughly 261,000.
• TCU auditors found a statistically significant upward trend in the stock of requests exceeding the 45‑day legal limit and flagged operational capacity and IT vulnerabilities as continuing risks.
• The government credits emergency measures for record grant rates of about 730,000 benefits per month from January through July 2026 and a sharp fall in medical‑perícia backlogs to about 196,615 cases.
• Analysts warn that uneven regional performance and a reported 70% rise in denials this year could leave some applicants still facing delays and may carry fiscal and social consequences going forward.