More than half of Portuguese pensioners live on pensions of less than 800 euros per month. Social Security accounts for around two million old-age pensions at the end of 2024, and the numbers show a worrying portrait of retirement income. The majority receive up to 764 euros per month, according to data cited by Correio da Manhã, an amount that is below the national minimum wage.
The numbers reveal a trend that has worsened in recent years: the aging of the population and salary inequalities accumulated throughout professional careers are now reflected in pensions. And even with the increases announced by the Government, the difference between the income of men and women continues to be significant.
Women earn less and live longer
According to Correio da Manhã, retired women receive, on average, 334 euros less than men. In December 2024, the average female pension stood at 452 euros per month, while that of men reached 786 euros.
The difference is explained, according to the same publication, by the lower salaries and shorter contributory careers of women, who accumulate fewer discounts throughout their working lives. Furthermore, they are the ones who live the longest after retirement, which makes them more vulnerable to loss of purchasing power.
80 thousand widowers over 90 years old
Demographic aging is another relevant fact. Also according to Correio da Manhã, there are 80 thousand widows and widowers over 90 years old receiving survivor pensions, more than 80% of whom are women. Among this group, around 500 beneficiaries accumulate old-age and widow’s pensions.
In the last ten years, the number of pensioners in these conditions has increased by more than 50%, reflecting the impact of the increase in average life expectancy and the aging of the population.
Few receive high pensions
Among the total universe of retirees, only 1,857 people receive pensions greater than 6,111 euros per month, according to the same newspaper. At the opposite extreme, more than 819 thousand pensioners live on less than 600 euros a month, and 319 thousand do not even reach 400 euros.
Spending on pensions currently exceeds 15 billion euros annually, an amount that represents one of the largest slices of the Social Security Budget.
Reforms increase, but remain short
Despite annual updates and partial recovery in relation to inflation, the average value of pensions increased by only 7.3% between 2023 and 2024. The explains that the growth results mainly from the automatic revisions provided for in the law, and not from a structural reevaluation of the model.
Even so, pensions remain insufficient to keep up with the cost of living. Most retirees have contributory careers of more than 35 years, but the amount they receive does not cover basic housing, food and health expenses, especially in large cities.
A portrait of the reforms
With more than 1.5 million old-age pensions and a system increasingly pressured by aging, Portugal faces a structural challenge: ensuring the sustainability of Social Security and protecting the income of those who have worked their entire lives.
The numbers show that retirement, for many, is not synonymous with rest, but with survival. And the question that remains is inevitable: if today more than half of pensioners live on less than 800 euros, how much will the retirement of those who are still working be worth?
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