Abstract (Translated):
This study aimed to analyze the regulatory impact of Law No. 13,134/2015 on the Unemployment Insurance and Salary Bonus programs, which constitute the main mandatory expenditure items of the Workers' Support Fund (FAT). The analyses focused on three central issues, considering the period between 2011 and 2023: i) expenditure trajectory and potential savings generated; ii) implications on the social coverage of the programs; and iii) relationship with other fiscal policy decisions that also intervened on FAT revenues in the same period. The results indicate that the law, on the one hand, allowed the reversal of the growth trajectory of expenditures on both programs, resulting in potential savings of around R$ 100 billion by 2023; on the other hand, the changes in eligibility criteria and calculation of benefits had quite restrictive impacts on some groups of workers, reducing their protective capacity. Furthermore, the savings achieved did not translate into new resources for other services to workers, since they were more than offset by the loss of FAT revenues in the same period.