Are food stamps adjusted for inflation?

Food stamps have received a lot of attention in recent days due to major changes to their rules. Benefits provided by employers to ensure that employees have adequate nutrition are not mandatory.

The aid works like meal vouchers. The difference is that the first can be used to buy food in places like supermarkets, while the second is used to pay for ready-made food, like restaurants.

value adjustment

Every year, the federal government is required by law to update the minimum wage based on the National Consumer Price Index (INPC). The objective of using an inflation meter is to prevent the population from losing purchasing power.

But the same does not happen with valleys. In principle, the company has no commitment to readjust the value of benefits, as they are not even mandatory.

However, if there is any contract or agreement with the category union that determines the correction, it will need to be complied with. When the renewal of the value of the meal voucher agreed between employee and employer is unsuccessful, the worker and/or their union may file a lawsuit in the Labor Court.

Brazilians eat by default

Food expenses cost 18% of Brazilians a loss in the first six months of the year. The data comes from Boa Vista, which collected data from 1.500 consumers across the country. That level is the highest ever in a series that began five years ago.

The majority of negatives (28%) attribute default to unemployment. Another 24% said it was a result of lower income.

“Historically, unemployment has been a major contributor to the negative impact, and it has been, although unemployment has fallen in recent months,” said Flavio Calife, an economist at Boa Vista.