The government aims to enhance data sharing between Social Security and the Tax and Customs Authority (AT) concerning social support beneficiaries to ensure fair distribution and combat fraud. This announcement was made by the Secretary of State for Social Security, Susana Filipa Lima, on Tuesday, who also assured that when the government became aware of cuts in social support, instructions were given to “suspend the reassessment of resource conditions” to “prevent further harm to citizens“.
Cross-referencing Data to “Combat Fraud”
When questioned in Parliament about the need for data interconnection between the two services, the Secretary of State stated that this is an executive objective.
“I do not hide that we have the ambition to interconnect data between Social Security and the Tax Authority, not to penalize the awarding of access [to social support], but to ensure they are awarded to those who need them,” she replied.
“The interconnection of data and the granting of social benefits based on more comprehensive information about beneficiaries will allow for a fairer allocation of social support as provided in the law and will also help combat fraud, which is one of our concerns,” Filipa Lima stated.
The official insisted that the aim is not to cut support but to detect abusive cases.
“Naturally, it does not mean we will use data interconnection to penalize those who should not be penalized. We are not, at all, making any use, nor do we intend to use this, for any sort of cuts,” she emphasized.
“The more information we have, the fairer and more efficient the process of allocating social benefits will be, particularly regarding detecting abuses and combating fraud,” she further stated.
Cutting Support? Government Directed to “Suspend Reassessments”
Still in Parliament, the Secretary of State for Social Security admitted that in August, “complaints” arose from “several citizens and associations, claiming that granting the Informal Caregiver Support Subsidy was penalizing the household in some social benefits, particularly child benefits.”
In response to deputies, the Secretary of State for Social Security said that the Executive, when confronted with this situation, gave “guidance to suspend the reassessment of resource conditions to prevent further harm to citizens already affected“.
The official further indicated that Social Security did not make any “prior communication” regarding this situation but has made “efforts” to adopt a more proactive stance to avoid “people being negatively surprised when situations like these or similar occur”.
The Informal Caregiver Support Subsidy aims to aid those caring for dependent individuals, but Social Security began treating it as income, “which may reduce social support and increase the tax burden,” according to DECO PROTeste.
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According to a survey conducted by the Executive “in August this year,” around 1,600 beneficiaries had their family allowances recalculated.
“The allocation of family allowance, as well as other social benefits, including the caregiver support subsidy itself, is subject to verification of resource conditions, which is regulated by a specific decree, Decree-Law No. 70/2010. For this purpose, among others, family earnings include work income, capital incomes, pensions, and other social benefits,” she explained.
However, according to the Secretary of State, “what happens is that by being classified under the solidarity subsystem, the informal caregiver support subsidy is not covered” by the legal exceptions that exclude support from the income universe, and thus, the subsidy “is accounted for as income.”
Filipa Lima also stated that the government is committed to solving the problem through legislative changes “as soon as possible.”
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