Many pensioners live on just over 600 euros per month, but there are careers in Portugal where pensions exceed 4,000 euros. The difference largely results from the pension schemes and calculation rules applied before the most recent reforms. In 2024, the average old-age pension from Social Security was €617.3/month, while at Caixa Geral de Aposentações (CGA) the total average pension was around €1,592/month.
Official data from the Diário da República confirm that former civil servants continue to receive many of the highest pensions, especially in careers at the top of the State. Monthly lists of retirees show individual pensions above 4,000 euros and, in 2024, there were 7,897 pensions above 5,000 euros among former state employees.
Careers at the top of the State concentrate the highest pensions
There are no public statistics with averages by profession, but the available evidence indicates that the high end of the distribution is concentrated in careers such as judiciary, diplomacy and senior management, among others. These pensions reflect long trajectories and historically more favorable calculation rules under the CGA regime (especially for length of service up to 2005).
Why regime matters
It has been closed to new registrations since 2006 (convergent regime). For the time before 2006, the pension was strongly linked to the last salary; later on, a formula closer to Social Security began to be applied, based on the average of revalued wages.
Private sector at a clear disadvantage
In Social Security, pensions are calculated based on the career average and the distribution is low: 80.3% of old-age pensions were below 1.5 IAS (≈ €765 in 2024). That’s why only a small fraction exceeds 2,000 euros.
Reforms that span generations
The CGA’s higher pensions result, to a large extent, from old rules and long careers in the State. In 2023, the CGA paid 11.3 billion euros to ~484 thousand retirees and retirees, a significant burden on public accounts.
Pensioners with higher value pensions are concentrated in the CGA regime, with cases well above 4,000 euros and up to 5,000 euros. The Social Security old-age average was €617.3 (2024), against ~€1,600 in the CGA. The contrast reflects different rules and different professional trajectories, and explains why there are reforms that are worth seven times the average.
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