BRAZILIAN SOCIAL SECURITY: A DISCUSSION ON THE 2019 REFORM AND SPECIAL RETIREMENT

This article analyzes the impacts of the 2019 Brazilian Social Security Reform on the rights to health and education, with an emphasis on special retirement.The research begins with the historical trajectory of social rights and the formation of the Welfare State in Brazil, highlighting Social Security as a fundamental instrument of social justice and worker protection.Using a qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive approach, based on a bibliographic and documentary review, the study examines the changes promoted by Constitutional Amendment No. 103/2019.Among the main changes are the requirement of a minimum age for granting special retirement, the prohibition of converting special time into common time, and the modification in the calculation of benefits.The results indicate that such measures hinder access to special retirement and weaken its protective function, by imposing greater time of exposure to unhealthy working conditions.This constitutes a violation of constitutional principles such as the prohibition of social regression and solidarity.Furthermore, there is a worsening of workers' health, an increase in judicialization, and adverse economic and social consequences.It is concluded that, despite being presented as a measure of fiscal sustainability, the reform represents a setback in the guarantee of fundamental rights, compromising human dignity and social justice established by the Federal Constitution of 1988.