The age of the reform moves again with the plans of many workers. There are those who now find themselves to postpone decisions, redo accounts, and review the calendar with which he had to leave life active. The change has already been made official and is generating doubts and readjustments on a large scale.
According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the average life expectancy at 65 has risen to 20.02 years in the period between 2022 and 2024. This value determines the new legal age of reform in Portugal: in 2026, it will be fixed in 66 years and 9 months, more than in 2025, when it will be 66 years and 7 months.
What changes and when it comes into force
The new age of the reform will be applied from January 1, 2026. The 66 years and 9 months represent the highest value ever in the current system, a direct result of the legal formula defined in Decree-Law 187/2007, which indexes the legal age of the evolution of average life expectancy at 65.
This automatic rule was suspended in 2023, when age fell to 66 years and 4 months. This retreat was due to the impact of mortality associated with the COVID-12 pandemic. However, the increase observed in 2024 replaced the upward tendency of the indicator, leading to the new adjustment to 2026.
Penalties for those who anticipate the reform
According to the same INE, the sustainability factor applied to early pensions will be 16.9 % in 2026, which implies considerable cuts in the value of the benefit for those leaving before the legal age. In addition, an additional 0.5% penalty is applied for each month of advance.
This means that those who choose to reform a year earlier will have an approximate reduction of 6%, add to the sustainability factor cut, resulting in a significant total loss.
Exceptions and special regimes
There are exemptions that allow to completely or partially to escape the cuts. In April last year it was clarified that workers at least 60 years old and 40 years of discounts are exempt from the sustainability factor, but continue to pay the monthly penalty.
Additionally, those who have very long careers, starting with the activity before the age of 16 and at least 46 years of discounts, can be renovated without penalties. In some cases, a reduction in the so-called personal reform age applies: four months of reduction for each year above 40 contributory careers.
And now? Financial Planning Recentra in Focus
Many workers said they renovated before 66 years and 9 months and are surprised by the imminent change the impact on life plans, especially for those who had already defined pre-reform dates or contracts, may be relevant.
Those who are thinking of leaving the job market should make simulations with the expected cuts and consider if they will make up to work a few more months. Each additional month contributes to a safer pension and reduces penalties.
Deep down, life expectancy dictated the rule
According to, the new level reflects an increase in the average life expectancy at 65 years of more than three months between the 2021-2023 and 2022‑2024 triennium. This climb requires the system to adjust the age of access to maintain the financial balance of pensions.
In practice, those who still plan early renovation with penalties will have to rethink the right moment. The trend is clear: reform early will be increasingly expensive.
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