The Benefício de Prestação Continuada (BPC – Continuous Cash Benefit) programme grants a non-contributory benefit of the amount of one minimum wage to elderly people (65 or older) and those with disabilities that make them unfit to live and work independently. To qualify, there must be evidence that the monthly household income per capita is less than a quarter of the minimum wage currently in effect. It is, therefore, aimed at very poor families. The BPC is a right guaranteed by the 1988 Federal Constitution and regulated by the Lei Orgânica de Assistência Social (LOAS – Organic Law on Social Assistance). The cash transfers began in 1996.