Youth and Social Security Coverage in Brazil ()
Abstract
Brazil is still a young country, just starting the process of aging, but
Brazil’s spending on social security is similar to those countries whose population aging has already
occurred. Some studies explain the high cost of the
Brazilian Social Security System due to the assumption that there is a positive
relationship between social security and poverty alleviation. In fact, the
effectiveness of this instrument as reducing poverty was high until 2002, but
stopped growing and fell slightly thereafter. Brazilian law provides that wives and children or stepchildren under age
21, or under 25, since they are college students, are welfare beneficiaries. In other words they are
protected by Brazilian Social Security System. However, data reveals that in
Brazil, children and young people have a very low social security direct
coverage, which increases with age and reaches high levels for individuals aged
60 or older. Children and young people
are the groups most affected by poverty and extreme poverty in Brazil. In this
sense, the assumption according to which Social Security helps combat family
poverty is flawed. Considering these issues, this article aims to contribute to
the debate on the need to rethink the Brazilian Social Security System and the
need of construction of specific policies for children and young people in
Brazil.
Share and Cite:
Tafner, P. and Botelho, C. (2014) Youth and Social Security Coverage in Brazil.
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
2, 144-159. doi:
10.4236/jss.2014.21014.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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