According to the recommendation of the Ombudsman's Office, Social Security is not respecting the duties of prior notification of the return of social benefits or of justifying this decision, the legal limits of compensation and the guarantees of the defense of citizens are not being respected, which is why it demands a review of the law.

This review would allow “to correct a set of irregular practices that have persisted for many years, despite several warnings, in the context of the collection of social benefits paid by Social Security” and that “are deeply harmful to people’s rights”.

The recommendation was based on an analysis of complaints filed by beneficiaries of Social Security benefits who were required to return amounts received years ago or who had their benefits, such as unemployment insurance, family support or pensions, suspended or reduced, without having been heard or informed about the matter, the note explains.

According to the ombudsman, the Social Security “limits itself to notifying citizens” and “often after the expiration of the period provided by law for the cancellation of administrative acts with retroactive effects”, demanding the return of the amounts paid, but without justifying the reasons that justify it.

“This form of action prevents people from understanding what is at stake, exercising their right to contest or even invoking the (frequent) statute of limitations on the obligation to make restitution,” points out the Public Defender’s Office.

There are also cases in which Social Security “proceeds with automatic and immediate compensation, once again without providing explanations and, consequently, without granting the appropriate possibility to pay voluntarily or request instalment payments”.

The Public Defender's Office cites the examples of the “unexplained reduction” of a pension granted in 2023 to offset a debt from 2014 and cuts without prior notice to sickness benefits in 2021 and 2022 to offset debts from 1997 and 1999.

“In some cases of compensation and suspension of benefits, there was also non-compliance with the minimum subsistence limits set by law, which is particularly serious when benefits are involved that constitute the sole source of income of the citizens concerned”, adds the Ombudsman, who highlights the “disregard for fundamental guarantees provided for in the Constitution and the Code of Administrative Procedure”.

“The Public Defender's Office emphasizes that the actions of the Public Administration must be guided by criteria of justice, transparency and respect for the Rule of Law, with special attention to the situations of people who depend on social benefits to ensure their subsistence,” the note also says.

In a note sent to Lusa, the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security (MTSSS) said that it will “analyse with due attention the recommendations” of the Ombudsman and that it will seek to “follow up on them”, both in adopting measures to adapt procedures to the law and in recommending a review of the law.

The MTSSS also recalls that “it was undertaking a structural change in procedures in order to avoid or mitigate undue payments that are at the root of the problem identified by the Ombudsman, something that will have to be resumed by the next Government”.