Aposentadoria especial após a reforma da previdência: novo requisito etário e seus reflexos jurídicos.

Abstract

Special retirement, a social security institution created to protect workers exposed to physical, chemical, biological agents or a combination of these, underwent significant changes with Constitutional Amendment No. 103/2019. The research highlights the attributions of the special retirement benefit before Constitutional Amendment 103/2019, which waived a minimum age requirement, requiring only a reduced contribution period (15, 20 or 25 years, depending on the risk) and proof of permanent exposure to harmful agents. Given this reality, the research problem faced consisted of the following question: “to what extent did the Social Security Reform affect the granting of special retirement, with regard to the health and well-being of workers exposed to harmful conditions?”. The hypothesis was formulated taking into account the legal and social impacts of the introduction of the age requirement for granting the benefit, by questioning whether the new rules preserve their purpose of social protection or end up increasing occupational risks and inequalities to the detriment of the worker's occupational health. The research, of an applied nature and qualitative approach, uses a deductive method and historical analysis to cover the normative evolution of the institute, from the Eloy Chaves Law (1923) – the initial milestone of Brazilian social security – to the 2019 reform, highlighting the recent introduction of the age requirement, which requires workers to prolong their exposure to harmful agents. The research concludes that, by imposing age requirements, Constitutional Amendment No. 103/2019 did not prioritize the occupational health and social protection of workers, exposing them to risky environments and irreversible damage for a prolonged period. The analysis contributes to presenting the rupture in the protective logic of special retirement, highlighting how the reform did not prioritize consolidated social rights, reinforcing the need to align the reforms with the already consolidated constitutional guarantees.