This chapter covers the various benefits granted in the case of invalidity in Portugal
- Disability Pension [Pensão de invalidez];
- Special Protection during Disability [Proteção especial na invalidez].
- Social Inclusion Benefit (Prestação social para a inclusão).
In what situation can I claim?
For Disability Pension
- Disability Employees;
- Self-employed workers;
- Members of statutory bodies;
- Domestic workers;
- Beneficiaries of the voluntary social security scheme.
For Special Protection During Disability:
- Employees;
- Self-employed workers;
- Beneficiaries of voluntary social security;
- Members of statutory bodies;
- Domestic workers;
- Persons in a state of need.
Social Inclusion Benefit:
- Nationals and foreign citizens, refugees and stateless persons.
What conditions do I need to meet?
Disability Pension Pensão de invalidez]
Entitlement to a Disability Pension is recognised when a beneficiary is permanently incapable of work, for a reason not related to his or her occupation, as certified by the Sistema de Verificação de Incapacidades (SVI) [Incapacity Verification System], and the beneficiary has met the minimum qualifying period requirement.
Disability may be:
- Relative: when the beneficiary's earning capacity for his or her own occupation is reduced, and he or she is not expected to recover within the next three years, and the beneficiary has registered earnings for at least five calendar years, consecutive or not;
- Absolute: When the beneficiary is permanently and definitively incapable of working in any occupation and has registered earnings for at least 3 calendar years, consecutive or not.
Special Protection during Disability
This scheme protects beneficiaries (whether under the general scheme or as persons in a state of need) who are permanently incapable of work or in a state of dependency due to certain illnesses, non-professionals whose problem cannot be solved with mobility equipment or workplace accommodation. It involves the payment of a Disability Pension, a Social Disability Pension and a Dependency Supplement.
The minimum qualifying period is three calendar years, whether consecutive or aggregate, with registered earnings.
Social Inclusion Benefit
This benefit, which replaces the social disability pension and the monthly lifetime allowance, is designed for legal residents of Portugal who have a certified degree of incapacity of at least 60%, or 80% for beneficiaries of an invalidity pension.. Certification is the responsibility of the health services’ medical committees, using a general-purpose invalidity certificate.
What am I entitled to and how can I claim?
Disability Pension Pensão de invalidez]
The Disability Pension amount is determined according to the beneficiary's social security contribution record and registered earnings.
Each year in July and December, all pensioners are entitled to receive an additional payment equal to the amount of their pension (holiday and Christmas bonuses); this payment is in addition to their usual monthly pension.
Minimum rates
Under the general scheme, certain minimum rates are guaranteed according to the pensioner's contribution record: Relative disability pension – a variable amount according to four contribution levels: less than 15 years, 15 to 20 years, 21 to 30 years and 31 years and over.
Absolute Invalidity Pension: the minimum rate is the same as the rate paid for Relative Invalidity Pensions and Old-Age Pensions corresponding to 40 years of social security contributions.
The Dependency Supplement is paid on top of this.
Special Protection during Invalidity
The Invalidity Pension amount under the general scheme corresponds to 3% of reference income for each calendar year with registered earnings; there is a guaranteed minimum rate set at 30% of the reference income and a maximum rate set at 80% of the reference income. The minimum rates for the Invalidity Pension and the Old-Age Pension are guaranteed under the general scheme.
Minimum amounts
Social Inclusion Benefit
The reference amount for the basic component of the social inclusion benefit is set at € 3,795.94, which corresponds to a maximum monthly amount of € 316.33.
The maximum monthly amount of the supplement (second component of the social inclusion benefit) is set at €550.67.
Jargon busters
- SVI: Sistema de Verificação de Incapacidades [Incapacity Verification System
- Relative disability: when the beneficiary is unable to earn more than one third of the earnings corresponding to the normal practice of his or her occupation and in the following three years he or she does not recover the capacity to earn more than 50% of normal earnings based on his or her last occupation.
- Absolute disability: when the beneficiary is permanently and definitively incapable of practising any kind of work or occupation and the beneficiary will not recover, before his or her statutory pension age, the capacity to earn any other means of subsistence.
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Forms you may need to fill in
- RP5072-DGSS: Claim for invalidity pension
- RP5090-DGSS: Claim for special invalidity pension]
- RP5071-DGSS: Questionnaire for applying to a competent foreign institution for invalidity pension or old-age pension.
- PSI 1-DGSS – Application for social inclusion benefit
- RP5027-DGSS: Application for the dependency supplement]
These forms can be found on the Social Security website.
You can apply for the Invalidity Pension in the following ways:
Through the Segurança Social Direta service.
By completing the Mod RP5072-DGSS form and submitting it with the required documents:
- At a Social Security office.
- At a Citizen's Shop.
- To the social security organisation in the country of residence if you live abroad and there is an international social security agreement with Portugal. Alternatively, you can submit the form and documents to the National Centre for Pensions if there is no such agreement.
To apply for the Social Inclusion Benefit, you can choose one of the following options:
- Use the Segurança Social Direta service for faster processing.
- Complete the Mod.PSI1-DGSS form and submit it along with the required documents by hand or by post to the Social Security services.
Know your rights
The links below define your entitlements in accordance with Portuguese law. They are not European Commission links, nor do they represent the Commission's position
- Invalidity Pension [Pensão de invalidez];
- Proteção especial na invalidez [Special Protection during Invalidity].
- Social Inclusion Benefit / information in English
Commission Publication and Website:
Who do you need to contact?
You can obtain further information on social protection during disability through one of the following
Social Security Line: 300 502 502 / 210 545 400
Personalized service: Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, excluding public holidays
Automated reply system: 24/24, 7/7
From abroad: +351 300 502 502 / +351 210 545 400.
Social Security website: www.seg-social.pt.
Consult Segurança Social Direta [Social Security Direct].