Brazil's Social Security Ministry announces end of INSS waiting list

Brazil's Ministry of Social Security announced that the waiting list for the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) has been eliminated. Minister Wolney Queiroz stated that the number of pending requests fell below the monthly influx of new applications, transitioning the system from a backlog to a continuous service flow.

As of August, the number of pending processes was approximately 1.252 million, while new monthly requests reached 1.394 million. INSS President Ana Cristina Silveira clarified the composition of the remaining processes, noting that 640,000 are very recent, 378,000 are awaiting documentation from citizens, and 235,000 have been awaiting a response for more than 45 days.

The government attributes this reduction to several factors, including the appointment of new civil servants, the use of telemedicine in 865 agencies, the implementation of documentary medical expertise, and weekend work shifts. While the administration claims the queue is cleared because the backlog is smaller than the monthly demand, critics note that 235,000 requests still exceed the 45-day threshold previously used to define a delay.