The impact of the social protection "assistance" process in the pension social service

Abstract

In the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century the
consolidation and expansion of neoliberal reforms took place, promoting a restructure of the Brazilian social protection system. These modifications have been presentin a tendency to the increase in importance of the development of assistance programs and the decrease in importance of other social policies at the social protection level, the so-called “assistance” process. This fact has a straight relationship with the actions of the social worker as an executor, formulator and evaluator of these policies, especially when inserted into one of
the three cornerstones of Social Security – health, assistance and pension plan. The focus of the present study is on the latter area. Thus, the paper aims at studying which are the real consequences of these transformations for the professional practice of social workers, reflecting on the current professional actions regarding the social pension plan and analyzing how these changes can mean a reorientation of social workers’ practice.