The value of unemployment benefit will increase in 2026, accompanied by a transversal increase in various social supports and allowances that depend on the Social Support Index. According to Notícias ao Minuto, which cites Lusa calculations, the IAS is expected to rise to 537.13 euros at the beginning of next year, a direct reflection of the combination between economic growth and inflation.
This update means automatic increases in benefits such as unemployment benefit, sickness benefit, social insertion income and several other Social Security responsibilities.
According to the same source, the minimum amount of unemployment benefit corresponds to 1.15 times the IAS. In 2025, this value was set at 600.88 euros and should rise to 617.52 euros in 2026. The maximum limit, calculated using 2.5 times the IAS, should increase to 1,342.5 euros, an increase of more than 36 euros compared to the value currently in force.
The increase in the IAS has a direct impact on a wide range of support that uses this indicator as a reference. According to the publication, sickness benefit, family allowance, solidarity supplement for the elderly, access to study grants and even social insertion income are calculated based on the IAS and, therefore, will also see their values updated in 2026.
This evolution results from the legal formula that determines the annual update. According to Notícias ao Minuto, the calculation takes into account the average annual GDP growth rate of the last two years, ending in the third quarter, and the average variation of the last 12 months of the Consumer Price Index without housing, referring to November. These elements are crossed and rounded to the first decimal place, defining the amount for the following year.
According to data released by the National Statistics Institute, this mechanism will lead to the IAS increasing by 2.8 percent, from the current 522.50 euros to 537.13 euros. This is an increase of 14.63 euros, which will be automatically reflected in all indexed installments.
What, after all, is the IAS?
The Social Support Index was created to function as a uniform reference for the attribution and updating of social benefits. The website explains that this is the base value used by the central administration, the Autonomous Regions and local authorities to determine amounts and limits of various benefits and expenses. It is, therefore, one of the structuring instruments of Portuguese social policy.
The law determines that the IAS is updated annually on January 1st, based on the most recent macroeconomic indicators. These indicators include real GDP growth and the average change in the CPI without housing.
The annual variation in GDP is calculated by comparing the fourth quarter of a year with the third quarter of the following year, whenever the data is available until December 10th.
Small rise, big impact
Although the nominal increase may seem modest, the impact is significant for thousands of families who depend on social benefits and, in particular, for those who are unemployed.
A higher IAS represents broader minimum and maximum limits and, above all, greater predictability in the set of supports that accompany economic and inflationary developments.
With 2026 just around the corner, the IAS update puts the importance of this indicator and its transversal effect on the social protection network back on the public agenda.
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