The retirement age is not the same for all workers in Portugal. Although there is a normal age for accessing the old-age pension, the contributory career can change the moment at which a person is able to retire early without penalty or leave the job market sooner with cuts in the final amount.
In 2026, the normal age for access to old-age retirement under the general Social Security regime is 66 years and 9 months. This value was set by Ordinance No. 358/2024/1, of December 30, and is also indicated on the Gov.pt portal for those who want to apply for an old-age pension.
In Portugal, having exactly 40 years of discounts at the time of application does not, in itself, allow you to retire at age 65 without penalty. This is an important difference in relation to the Spanish regime, where the rule works differently.
According to the Social Security Practical Guide, the reduction in personal retirement age only starts to count for each year that exceeds 40 years of discounts. In other words, in 2026, those who have spent exactly 40 years in their contribution career will maintain the normal retirement age as a reference: 66 years and 9 months.
From then on, the age drops by four months for each completed year above 40 years of contribution. Thus, anyone who has a contributory career of 41 years has a personal retirement age of 66 years and 5 months. At 42 years old, the age increases to 66 years and 1 month. At age 43, it drops to 65 years and 9 months.
When do you reach 65?
To reach a personal retirement age close to 65, you need to have a longer contributory career. In 2026, according to the INSS table, anyone who has contributed 45 years has a personal retirement age of 65 years and 1 month. With 46 years of contribution, the personal retirement age drops to 64 years and 9 months. Still, there are specific rules for those who have very long careers, especially when they started discounting very early.
Social Security indicates that, under the very long career regime, it is possible to request an early pension without penalty from the age of 60 in two situations: with at least 48 years of deductions relevant to the calculation, or with at least 46 years of deductions, as long as the person started deducting before the age of 17.
Yes, but with a penalty. The flexibility regime allows you to request an early pension from the age of 60, as long as the worker has fulfilled the guarantee period and has 40 or more years of deductions while at that age. In these cases, the pension is cut by 0.5% for each month in advance of the personal retirement age. For those who have contributed exactly 40 years, the personal retirement age in 2026 remains 66 years and 9 months.
The INSS guide itself gives an example: a person who retires at age 61 with 40 years of contributions, having completed these 40 years while they were 60 years old, anticipates retirement by 69 months. The result is a fine of 34.5% of the retirement value, without the application of the social security factor in this scenario. If the person did not complete 40 years of contributions while they were 60 years old, Social Security indicates that access can be made under the previous regime, which may imply, in addition to the monthly fine, the application of the social security factor.
The cut is not the same for everyone
The penalty depends on the age at which the person applies for retirement and their personal retirement age. The greater the anticipation, the greater the cut applied. For example, anyone who has contributed 44 years in 2026 has a personal retirement age of 65 years and 5 months. If you apply for a pension at age 63, you will anticipate retirement by 29 months and suffer a fine of 14.5%. This is another example presented by Social Security in its practical guide.
Anyone who retires only at or after their personal retirement age does not face an early penalty in most cases. This is why years over 40 can make a difference: they reduce the personal retirement age and reduce, or eliminate, the cuts associated with early retirement.
Does having 40 years of deductions guarantee 100% of the pension?
In Portugal, the expression “100% of the pension” should be used with caution. The pension is calculated based on the contributory career, recorded earnings and the rules applicable to pension calculation. It does not automatically mean receiving an amount equal to your last salary. According to Social Security, the monthly retirement amount is the result of the reference remuneration multiplied by the global retirement formation rate, and there may also be bonuses, penalties or a sustainability factor, when applicable.
Furthermore, applying for retirement before the applicable personal age may reduce the amount, even if the person has a long career. With 40 years of contribution, the worker can have a relevant career for calculation purposes, but if he retires early he may suffer penalties. On the other hand, those who work beyond their personal or normal pension access age may be entitled to bonuses. According to Social Security, the monthly bonus rate depends on the years of contribution and can reach 1% per month for careers over 40 years, within legal limits.
What changes in the Spanish case
In the Spanish case, the conclusion is different: according to Spanish Social Security, in 2026 it is possible to access ordinary retirement at age 65 with at least 38 years and 3 months of contributions. Therefore, with 40 years of contribution, the Spanish rule allows you to retire at 65 years of age.
In Portugal, this answer does not apply. The Portuguese rule starts from a normal retirement age of 66 years and 9 months in 2026. There is only a reduction in the personal retirement age for each year that exceeds 40 years of deductions. Exactly 40 years old, this reduction still does not exist.
Thus, anyone who has contributed exactly 40 years at the time of the request can, as a rule, retire without penalty at the age of 66 years and 9 months. You can leave earlier, from the age of 60, under the flexible regime, but you will have to count on cuts that can be significant.
The answer for 2026
In Portugal, anyone who has 40 years of discounts in 2026 does not automatically retire at age 65 without penalty. The reference continues to be the normal age for accessing the pension, set at 66 years and 9 months. Retirement at age 65 only becomes closer for those who have had several years of contributions over 40 years of experience. And leaving at age 60 without penalty is reserved, as a rule, for very long careers, with 46 or 48 years of contribution, depending on the age at which the person started contributing.
Therefore, the question “I have 40 years of contributions, when can I retire?” has a direct answer in 2026: if you have exactly 40 years of contributory career at the time of the request, without early penalty, at 66 years and 9 months; earlier, only with penalty, unless it is covered by another special regime provided for by law.
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