Social Assistance in Brazil: Financing of SUAS

Author: Bruna Goussain e Giovanna Lima

Edition: 1st

Published in: April 2026

This report is the third in the series produced by IMDS on the social assistance policy in Brazil. After examining the axes of organization and management of the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS) in the two previous volumes, this document deepens understanding of the functioning of financing, completing the reading initiated with the diagram that represents, in an integrated way, the architecture of the policy.

The objective of this report is to systematize and explain the main elements that structure the financing of the social assistance policy within the scope of SUAS, with emphasis on the current design of federal co-financing, and the responsibilities of different spheres of government. It seeks to organize, in accessible language, the normative and operational framework that guides the allocation, transfer and application of resources destined to services, benefits and social assistance programs.

Like the other reports in the series, this study is anchored in federal norms and instruments that guide the implementation of the policy throughout the national territory, acknowledging, however, that States and Municipalities can adopt complementary regulations.

Happy reading! And also check out the first and second reports of the series of studies on Social Assistance in Brazil.