The single social benefit is one of the most relevant changes being prepared in the social security area in Portugal, because it aims to concentrate various supports in a simpler model, with less bureaucracy and more harmonized rules. The reform is part of the package of changes associated with the PRR and should soon reach Parliament.
According to the Secretary of State for Social Security, Filipa Lima, the project is currently circulating among members of the government and the Executive’s intention is to send it “very soon” to the Assembly of the Republic in the form of a bill. The guarantee was given at a regulatory hearing at the parliamentary committee on Work, Social Security and Inclusion, according to the portal specializing in economics and business.
The future single social benefit, also referred to as PSU, will have as its main objective to simplify access to social support. In practice, the Government’s idea is to reduce the complexity of the current system, which is based on several different benefits, with its own rules and access processes that are often more cumbersome for beneficiaries.
In the words of Filipa Lima, this is a service designed to cut bureaucracy and also the so-called contextual costs, creating a simpler and easier to manage model. The measure is part of the reforms planned in the area of social security under the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
There are 13 supports, but there is an important exclusion
According to information provided by the Government, the PSU will add 13 benefits from the solidarity subsystem. Among them will be the Social Insertion Income, one of the best-known supports within this universe.
The Solidarity Supplement for the Elderly is left out. The exclusion was highlighted by the Secretary of State herself during the parliamentary hearing, precisely to eliminate doubts raised in the political debate surrounding the new model.
Work no longer means automatic loss
One of the most highlighted new features by the Executive is the creation of a work incentive component, according to the source cited above. The objective is to prevent a rise in labor income from immediately causing an automatic loss of social support, something that the Government understands can currently act as a brake on integration into the labor market.
The reform also foresees harmonizing the conditions for access to the various benefits, including the rules linked to means-tested conditions. Furthermore, the Government says it wants to reinforce the adequacy, coverage and overall effectiveness of the social protection system.
There will be compensations and transition rules
Another announced component involves participation in social solidarity activities, designed as compensation for beneficiaries of working age. This point should be part of the final design of the new provision, although the concrete contours will still depend on the diploma that the Government intends to present.
Filipa Lima also guaranteed that transition rules will be created to protect current beneficiaries. The intention, according to the government official, is to avoid sudden ruptures and ensure that the transition to the new model does not cause abrupt losses in social protection.
Calendar is tight
The Executive admits that it was necessary to make up for delays in the development of this measure, but considers that it remains capable of meeting the defined schedule. The goal is to move forward with the bill in time to fulfill the commitments made under the PRR, whose schedule was recently adjusted to guarantee the execution of the goals by August 2026.
For now, the single social benefit is not yet approved or in force, according to Executive Digest. What exists at this stage is political confirmation that the diploma is in the government circuit and should soon go to parliamentary discussion, in a reform that promises to profoundly change the architecture of social support in Portugal.
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