New INSS service rules come into effect this Monday; see what changes

From this Monday (4), workers, retirees and pensioners who go to the agencies of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) will have new rules of service.

The changes cover opening hours to the public, type of appointment, the right to a companion, the delivery of documents and the validity of old identity cards.

The changes are contained in Ordinance 1027, published last Wednesday (29) in the Official Gazette. The new standards make regulation official in August 2021.

Branches must work for 12 hours a day, with opening hours set between 6:30 am and 10 am. However, opening hours for the general public should start between 7 am and 8 am, working for six uninterrupted daily hours.

The afternoon time will be dedicated to scheduled medical examinations and other internal consultations.

Identification

The ordinance regulated the identification for the external public to enter the agency. The insured must present an official document with a photo. Patients and people over 60 years of age can present their identity card, which must be accepted by the server even with erasures.

The new rule aims to reduce the number of companions at service stations. Only policyholders with hearing impairments will be entitled to enter with a companion. In other situations, it will be up to the server responsible for the service to decide on the presence of one more person in the enclosure.

Documents delivery

Article 24 of the ordinance waives the requirement of a power of attorney in the simple delivery of documents to INSS agencies. However, the power of attorney (or any legal document that proves the representation) will be requested if the representative has to express an opinion on the fulfillment of any requirement.

In administrative justification processes, when the insured presents witnesses with evidence, the agency must provide an exclusive server for the service. When marking the depositions, the employee must inform if the witness testifies by administrative or judicial determination.

scheduling

The rule reintroduced prior scheduling in almost all situations, for service at branches. The insured can schedule the visit on the Meu INSS application or by calling 135, receiving a password when arriving at the branch on the day and at the scheduled time. More complex cases or cases that cannot be resolved remotely can be scheduled at Central 135 or exceptionally at branches, in the “specific service” modality.

Specific service will be authorized in the following situations:

• Impossibility of information or order completion through remote channels;
• When Central 135 cannot meet the demand and there is guidance for the operator to send the interested party to an agency;
• Resources requested by companies
• Request for contestation of Social Security Technical Nexos (NTEP);
• Citizen’s knowledge regarding the need to register in the Single Registry for Social Programs of the Federal Government (CadÚnico);
• Reactivation of the Continued Provision Benefit (BPC), after updating the CadÚnico;

Since the beginning of March, INSS agencies were serving the public without the need for scheduling. In March 2020, face-to-face service was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the end of 2020, the INSS posts returned to serve the public, but with prior appointment.