Pension question, Brazil
Can I receive an INSS pension while living abroad?
Once a benefit is in payment and you live outside Brazil, comprovacao de vida is required once a year, in your birthday month. Law 8.213/1991 sets a decadencia of ten years and limits unpaid instalments to the five years before the application, so an age pension runs from the date you apply and anything further back is lost.
- Source: planalto.gov.br and gov.br/inss, read 4 October 2026
What to do next
- Find your CPF number on old Brazilian papers.
- Check whether your country has a social security agreement with Brazil.
- Run our free check to see which other countries may hold a pension in your name.
Check your own working life for free
Tell us where you worked. The free check shows which countries may hold a pension for you, and which can be ruled out and why. No sign in, no charge.
Run the free checkQuestions people also ask
How long are the documents valid?
The life certificate or INSS form used for proof of life from abroad is valid for only 90 days, counted from the date of signature on the document issued by the Liaison Body of the agreement country, from the legalisation of the document by a Brazilian Embassy or Consulate, or from the date of the apostille.
Do you give advice on what to do?
No. We identify where a pension is likely held and the official route to it, and we name each source with the date we read it. We do not give financial, tax or legal advice.