The legal retirement age will rise again in Portugal. In 2026, the old-age pension for those who retire without penalties will become available at 66 years and 9 months, according to Ordinance No. 358/2024/1, of December 30, published in Diário da República. Compared to 2025 (66 years and 7 months, set in Ordinance No. 414/2023), the increase is two months.
According to Decree-Law No. 187/2007, the normal age for accessing the pension has varied since 2014 depending on the evolution of average life expectancy at 65 years, according to the legal formula provided there. It is this automatic update that explains the increases over the years.
Sustainability factor and penalties
According to the same Ordinance No. 358/2024/1, the sustainability factor applicable to pensions starting in 2025 is 0.8307, which corresponds to a cut of 16.93% in early retirements for that year. For 2026, the factor will be set in its own diploma (based on INE data from 2025).
Furthermore, there is an additional penalty of 0.5% for each month in advance of the legal age or personal age, in accordance with article 36, paragraph 3 of Decree-Law no. 187/2007.
Early retirement: who can benefit
According to the law (art. 20, no. 8 of DL 187/2007), the so-called “personal retirement age” allows four months to be deducted from the normal age for each year of discounts beyond 40, without ever going below 60 years. If the worker retires at his or her personal age, he or she avoids the 0.5% penalty; the sustainability factor can be maintained, except in regimes where the law exempts it.
There are also special regimes. According to Decree-Law No. 16-A/2021, the very long contributory careers regime allows retirement from the age of 60 if the beneficiary has 48 years of deductions (or 46 years, if he started his career before the age of 17). In these cases, the sustainability factor and the 0.5% reduction do not apply, as per official clarifications and parliamentary technical notes.
According to the special regime for fishing, registered maritime workers can access the pension from the age of 55, with their own contributory career conditions set out in Regulatory Decree no. 40/86 and related diplomas.
For mines, Decree-Law No. 195/95 provides for specific age reductions depending on the length of time working in the background. In these regimes, the calculation rules and possible cuts depend on the applicable special law, and “no penalties” should not be generalized for everyone.
How to request retirement and what changes in 2026
According to the Social Security portal and gov.pt, the pension application must preferably be made online (Direct Social Security).
It is necessary to comply with the guarantee period of 15 years of discounts (or 144 months in Voluntary Social Security). The rules now confirmed apply to pensions starting in 2026 (the request can be submitted earlier, with deferred effects).
The , a newspaper specializing in economics and finance, recalls that until 2013 the age was 65; in 2014 it increased to 66 years, and has since been indexed to life expectancy.
In 2023, the age dropped to 66 years and 4 months due to the impact of the pandemic, rose again to 66 years and 7 months in 2025 and will settle at 66 years and 9 months in 2026, as now made official.
Retiring at 60 remains an exception: it is possible in very long careers (in the terms above) or at personal age when it is equal to or greater than 60 years; for generality, in 2026, the reference will be 66 years and 9 months.
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