This paper investigates the effectiveness of the social security system as a rural antipoverty policy. The source of econometric identification is a Brazilian legislative change implemented in 1991 that reduced the minimum eligibility age, increased the benefits, and extended the participation to non-head of the household members. Our findings indicate that the reform has reduced the incidence of poverty by 40% in eligible households.This paper investigates the effectiveness of the social security system as a rural antipoverty policy. The source of econometric identification is a Brazilian legislative change implemented in 1991 that reduced the minimum eligibility age, increased the benefits, and extended the participation to non-head of the household members. Our findings indicate that the reform has reduced the incidence of poverty by 40% in eligible households.