INSS: who is responsible for revising retirement in 2026? – 01/02/2026 – Economy

The insured person who believes they are receiving a lower amount of retirement, pension or other social security benefits has the right to request a review of their income from the INSS (National Institute of Social Security). The first request is made via the Meu INSS application or website, or via telephone exchange 135.

The review can be requested within a period of up to ten years. The period runs from the month following the first payment. If the error is discovered, the government pays the insured any differences that were not deposited because of the error, up to the last five years.

Anyone who received their first INSS payment in December 2015 and noticed an error in their pension has until the end of January 2026 to request a review.

The beneficiary must first request the rectification of his income from the institute and, only then, from the court, if he does not receive a response or if he does not agree with the final result of his administrative process.

It is possible to include, in the recalculation request, salary amounts which were not included in the initial account or contribution times which were not taken into account by the organization.

To apply, you must have documents proving the INSS error. New documents, which were not presented at the time of request for service, do not guarantee a retroactive revision. Indeed, it is understood that the institute was not aware of it. In these cases, there is a different calculation for the correction of income and the payment of arrears.

Certain revisions have already been recognized by the courts and incorporated by Social Security, which grants them administratively, as is the case with the revision of the ceiling from 1991 to 2003 and the revision of maternity pay, whose rule for self-employed workers was modified in a judgment of the STF (Federal Supreme Court) in 2024.

See the calendar of INSS review requests in 2026

What is the pension review?

The review of retirement benefits or other benefits from the INSS is a request aimed at correcting an error made by the institute during the granting. Generally, this is done when the insured believes they are entitled to an amount greater than what they receive.

It is possible to ask the INSS to include salaries which were not taken into account in the initial calculation or contribution time which was not taken into account. If the institute recognizes the error, the insured person is entitled to higher benefits.

However, you must be careful, because when examining the administrative procedure for granting the benefit, the INSS may discover an error which reduces the benefit. In this case, the insured’s income will be reduced. The advice is therefore to seek out a lawyer specializing in social security before applying for one.

How to place the order?

The request for review of services is made via the Meu INSS application or website. This is the easiest and quickest way to have your income reviewed. It is necessary to attach documents proving the error and the right to higher income.

The request can also be made via Telephone Center 135. In this case, the citizen will be guided by the officials on the deadlines and the documentation to present to the INSS.

Submitting the documents to the INSS, in this case, can be done in two ways, according to the lawyers. The insured will have a protocol number and can use it in Meu INSS to attach the documents. If necessary, an appointment will be made to submit the documents to a Social Security agency.

What documents are required?

The documents to be presented to the INSS will depend on the type of correction request that the insured makes, whether it involves including salaries that were not included in the initial calculation or contribution time that was not taken into account, among others. Both can increase revenue.

To prove that the salaries taken into account in the INSS calculation are incorrect, the documents that can be presented are work cards and pay slips from the time, extracts from the FGTS (Service Time Guarantee Fund) or self-employed receipts which can prove the correct value of the salaries.

When it is desired to include the contribution time, the documents to be presented are, among others, a work card, a declaration from the former employer with the dates of entry and exit from employment and a process proving the period of work.

The citizen who is going to include a special time needs reports proving the activity in a situation harmful to health, which are different depending on the period he wants to prove. For activities from 2004, the document is the PPP (Professional Social Security Profile).

When to take legal action against the INSS?

Correction of the benefit can be requested from the INSS or the court. However, Justice can only be initiated after the request has been made administratively, at the institute. This is a decision taken by the STF (Federal Supreme Court), so it cannot be violated, under penalty of losing the appeal and never being able to submit the same request again.

For legal actions up to 60 SMIC or for files opened with Social Security, it is not necessary to have a lawyer, but it is good to have a defender. At the Special Federal Court, where cases involving up to 60 salaries are opened, if the INSS appeals, a lawyer must be appointed within ten days.

At the municipal social security court, where actions above 60 salaries are proposed – which are received by judicial decision – it is necessary to have a lawyer from the start, to file the request.

How are the amounts paid?

The payment of the revision fee has two phases. The first of these is the implementation of the new service, which will be corrected once the error is recognized. However, these deadlines are not immediate. At the INSS, they depend on internal bureaucratic processes and, at Justice, they depend on the judge’s order.

The other phase is the deposit of retroactive or late amounts. If the revision is taken care of by the INSS, this money may be paid into the account in which the insured person receives his retirement or be carried out by the PAB (Alternative Payment of Benefits), which may be subject to an internal audit.

In court, the sums are deposited either by RPV (Small Value Request) within two months after the judge’s order to pay, or by judicial decision, released once a year. In these cases, they fall into a special account opened at the Caixa Econômica Federal or at the Banco do Brasil in the name of the insured or his lawyer.