Caixa pays Bolsa Família benefits to beneficiaries with NIS ending in 3

On Friday (12), Caixa Econômica Federal will pay the December installment of the new Bolsa Família program to beneficiaries with a Social Registration Number (NIS) ending in 3. The minimum amount is R$ 600, but with the new additional payment, the average benefit amount rises to R$ 691.37. According to the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, this month the Federal Government's income transfer program will reach 18.7 million families, with an expenditure of R$ 12.74 billion. In addition to the minimum benefit, there are three additional payments. The Variable Family Benefit for Nursing Mothers pays six installments of R$ 50 to mothers of babies up to six months old to ensure the child's nutrition. Bolsa Família also pays an additional R$50 to pregnant women and nursing mothers, R$50 for each child aged 7 to 18, and R$150 for each child up to 6 years old. In the traditional Bolsa Família model, payments are made in the last ten business days of each month. However, because of the end-of-year holidays, the December calendar is brought forward by about ten days to allow time for the benefits to be deposited before Christmas. Beneficiaries can check information about payment dates, benefit amounts, and the composition of installments on the Caixa Tem app, used to track the bank's digital savings accounts. Beneficiaries in 179 cities received their payments on Wednesday (10), regardless of their NIS number. The measure benefited residents of 120 municipalities in Rio Grande do Norte and 32 in Paraná. Cities in five states also benefited: Sergipe (9), São Paulo (7), Roraima (6), Amazonas (3), and Piauí (2). Among the cities in Paraná with unified payments is Rio Bonito do Iguaçu, where 90% of buildings were destroyed by a tornado. These locations were affected by rains or droughts or have indigenous peoples in vulnerable situations. The list of municipalities with advance payments is available on the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance website. Since last year, Bolsa Família beneficiaries no longer receive the Seguro Defeso discount. The change was established by Law 14.601 2023, which reinstated the Bolsa Família Program (PBF). The Seguro Defeso is paid to people who survive exclusively from artisanal fishing and who cannot carry out this activity during the piracema period (fish reproduction). Around 2.33 million families are covered by the protection rule in December. This rule allows families whose members find employment and improve their income to receive 50% of the benefit to which they would be entitled for up to two years, provided that each member receives the equivalent of up to half the minimum wage. This month alone, 169,900 households left the Bolsa Família program and entered the protection rule, according to the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family, and Hunger Alleviation. In June, the length of time under the protection rule was reduced from two years to one year. However, the change only applies to families who entered the transition phase since June. Those who qualified for the rule until May of this year will continue to receive half of the benefit for two years.