Many Portuguese believe that it is enough to reach retirement age to guarantee a pension without surprises. But a small technical error, sometimes just the date on which they ask for the pension to start, can mean a loss of 200 or 300 euros a month, every month, for the rest of your life. In 2025, the “normal” age to retire without penalties is 66 years and 7 months, set by ordinance and confirmed in the Official Gazette.
Social security experts have warned that calculating pensions is more complex than it seems. Between the sustainability factor, personal ages and revaluation coefficients, just one out-of-place detail is enough to transform a “complete” renovation into a renovation with cuts. Furthermore, the pension start date counts (which you can choose in the application and request up to 3 months in advance), not just the day you submitted the request.
The risk of asking before the right age
One of the most common mistakes is to proceed with the request before the so-called “personal access age”. This age results from removing 4 months for each year of discounts above 40 at the normal age in force, and may be different (and lower) than the general legal age.
If you request to start your pension before this personal age, a reduction of 0.5% applies for each month in advance (flexible regime). In advance of 24 months, the cut is 12%.
The factor that cuts almost 17% at once
Another frequent mistake is ignoring the impact of the Sustainability Factor on early retirements without exemption: for pensions starting in 2025, the coefficient is 0.8307 (–16.93%). Exempt, among other cases, are very long careers (60+ years of age with 48 years of discounts, or 46 years if the career began before age 17) and the flexibility regime itself (60+ years and 40+ years of discounts at 60), in which the FS does not apply.
The calendar and an important clarification about retroactive payments
Every year, the Government publishes a decree with the revaluation coefficients used to update the old remunerations that are included in the calculation base. In 2025, Ordinance No. 83/2025/1 was published on March 5. Rule: the coefficients apply to pensions starting in that year and take effect from January 1 to December 31, 2025, there is an adjustment with retroactive effects if the initial calculation used the previous year’s coefficients. In other words, it doesn’t get worse “forever” because you asked for it before the ordinance, there is a later settlement.
The costly “mistake” is usually choosing the wrong start date (before personal age) and/or not knowing about exemptions, not asking for the coefficients before the coefficients are issued.
A Mistake That Can Last a Lifetime (and One That Doesn’t)
Advance reductions (0.5% per month) and the application of the Sustainability Factor are permanent when there is no exemption. The revaluation coefficients published for each year apply with effect in that year, allowing retroactive adjustments.
Information is the best insurance‘
Before moving forward, always confirm three points:
If you have already reached your “personal access age” (rule of 4 months for each year over 40).
If you are exempt from the Sustainability Factor (e.g., very long careers or flexibility with 40 years of discounts at 60).
If the start date you indicate avoids unnecessary months in advance (the request can be made up to 3 months in advance).
As a final note, experts advise all future pensioners to use the official simulator before submitting a retirement request. The tool allows you to test different pension start dates and immediately understand the impact that each option has on the monthly amount you receive.
Sometimes, postponing just a month can mean a few hundred euros more per month throughout the entire retirement, a difference that, accumulated over the years, represents a considerable financial loss for anyone who does not plan the right time.
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