One in four has bad experience with Social Welfare for Inclusion

O questionnaire, which collected 500 answers between February and March 2026, shows that the main source of frustration is related to the loss or reduction of Social Welfare for Inclusion (PSI) when there are changes in income of the person or household, creating situations of instability and uncertainty.

“ Among the most worrying data, there is the fact that 26% of the people who know about the provision do not benefit from this support,” said the Salvador Association in a press release, adding that 41% of the citizens who asked for this support waited more than two months for a decision and most beneficiaries consider that the amounts allocated are not adequate to their needs.

The conclusions of the questionnaire also indicate that more than a quarter of the disabled people who requested PSI had a negative experience during the application process.

PSI was created to promote the autonomy and inclusion of people with disabilities, being considered a fundamental measure, but the association states that the results of the survey demonstrate “a reality marked by delays, bureaucracy, lack of transparency and values considered insufficient to meet the increased costs of disability”.

For the Salvador association, the conclusions show that there is “a lag” between the objectives of the measure and the real experience of people with disabilities.

“PSI is an essential support, but it remains far from fully fulfilling its mission. The State cannot create rights that are then difficult to access, difficult to understand and insufficient to respond to the real needs of people ", says Inês Vieira Soares, manager of the social rights project of the association.

In view of these results, the Salvador Association presents a set of recommendations to make PSI more fair, effective and inclusive.

Among the main proposals are the updating of the amounts, the effective implementation of the increase provided by the law, the review of the criterion of 55 years, the simplification of administrative procedures, the reduction of waiting times and greater transparency in social security decisions.

The Salvador Association calls on the Government and political decision-makers to move forward with the necessary changes, ensuring that Social Welfare for Inclusion truly fulfils the goal for which it was created: “to promote autonomy, equal opportunities and the full participation of people with disabilities in society”.