A self-employed person’s statutory pension largely depends on the earnings they have made throughout their career. In Portugal, there is no freely chosen “minimum base” along the same lines as the Spanish system, but there is a rule that remains: those who pay little for many years tend to reach retirement with a lower calculated pension.
In the Portuguese case, self-employed workers contribute to Social Security based on their relevant income. When there is a contribution obligation and income is very low, or when the calculated contribution is less than the minimum, the law provides for a minimum contribution of 20 euros per month. But this value should not be confused with a minimum retirement base equal to the Spanish one. It establishes that, if there is no income or if the contribution calculated is less than 20 euros, a tax base is established that corresponds to that amount. Still, when earnings are low or when the worker uses the legal option to reduce the relevant earnings by up to 25%, the effect may be felt later in the pension calculation. The pension is based on recorded earnings and not just on the number of years of activity.
How do you calculate the contribution of self-employed workers
In Portugal, self-employed workers do not automatically deduct the entire amount they earn. According to the Code of Contribution Regimes, in the quarterly regime, the relevant income corresponds, as a rule, to 70% of the total value of the provision of services and 20% of the income associated with the production and sale of goods. For hotel and similar activities, restaurants and drinks, tax declared as such, the 20% rule also applies in relation to these income. Then, the monthly contribution base corresponds to one third of the relevant income calculated in each declaratory period, taking effect in the month itself and in the following two months. At the time of the quarterly declaration, the worker can choose to set a higher or lower relevant income of up to 25%, in intervals of 5%, within the legal limits.
On this basis, the contribution rate of 21.4% applies to most self-employed workers. Individual entrepreneurs, owners of individual limited liability establishments and their spouses have a tax rate of 25.2%. In practice, this means that a service provider that earns little or has a reduced contribution base will, in principle, have lower contributions. The problem is that these values are also recorded for future social protection purposes.
Discounting little today may weigh heavily tomorrow
The value of retirement based on age is calculated based on the contributory career and registered earnings. For those registered with the INSS from January 1, 2002, the calculation considers all years of contribution up to the limit of 40 years. If the career is longer, the 40 best years count. The reference remuneration is defined based on revalued annual remunerations, in accordance with Decree-Law No. 187/2007. Then the global pension formation rate is applied. The same diploma provides that, for careers lasting 21 years or more, the annual rate varies between 2.3% and 2%, depending on the value of the reference salary. When the reference salary is equal to or less than 1.1 IAS, the formula is: reference salary x 2.3% x number of years, up to a limit of 40. This is where the difference becomes visible: if recorded salaries are low for many years, the statutory pension also tends to be low.
How much can someone who pays little or only the minimum contribution receive?
There is no single value, because the calculation depends on the entire career. If a self-employed worker only paid the minimum contribution of 20 euros per month, the associated contribution base would be very small. With a rate of 21.4%, this payment corresponds to a monthly basis close to R$93.46. Even with a 40-year career, a retirement calculated solely on this basis would be very low, before the application of legal minimums or other rules in the specific case. This is why you should not turn the minimum contribution of 20 euros into a concrete pension promise. The final value depends on the years of remuneration records, the reference remuneration, the age at which the pension is requested, any penalties, periods in other regimes and the application, or not, of the legal minimums.
Now imagine another scenario: an independent worker providing services who, for many years, had a reference remuneration close to the IAS, which in 2026 is set at 537.13 euros by Ordinance No. 480-A/2025/1. With 40 years of deductions and reference remuneration equal to the IAS, the statutory pension would be close to 494 euros per month, before any adjustments, withholdings, legal minimums or specific rules. This example is indicative only. The real value depends on the earnings recorded each year, the date of registration, any careers in other schemes, the age at which the pension is requested and possible penalties.
There are minimum pensions in Portugal
The Portuguese system provides for minimum old-age pension amounts, which vary according to the years in which earnings are recorded. In 2026, the minimum values indicated by Social Security are R$341.08 for careers of less than 15 years, when applicable, R$357.80 for careers between 15 and 20 years, R$394.82 for careers between 21 and 30 years and R$493.52 for careers of 31 years or more. These values are also contained in Ordinance No. 480-B/2025/1, published in the Official Gazette of the Union.
This means that a self-employed person with many years of discounts, but low income, may end up covered by legal minimums, if they meet the applicable requirements. However, Social Security itself warns that these minimums are not guaranteed when retirement is anticipated through the flexibility regime. Still, these values should not be confused with a comfortable pension guarantee. They are minimums of protection, not a complete replacement of labor income.
Early retirement could cut even more
Anyone who applies for a pension before the legal age or before their personal retirement age may face penalties. In 2026, the normal age for accessing the old-age pension is 66 years and 9 months. Ordinance No. 476/2025/1 also sets the normal age for accessing the pension in 2027 at 66 years and 11 months and the sustainability factor applicable to retirement pensions starting in 2026 at 0.8237, which corresponds to a reduction of 17.63% in cases where this factor applies. In the flexibility regime, Social Security indicates that, for those who are at least 60 years old and have 40 or more years of deductions at that age, the fine is 0.5% for each month in advance of their personal retirement age. In these cases, according to the new rules, the social security factor is not applied.
For a self-employed person who already has a low estimated pension, applying for retirement early can further reduce the monthly amount. Therefore, the decision should not be made based on age alone. It is essential to understand what your personal retirement age is and how much is lost if you apply before that date.
What changes in the Spanish case
In Spain, the Noticias Trabajo article starts from the case of a self-employed worker who deducts based on the minimum base and calculates a specific pension for 2026. According to this publication, the general minimum base referred to is 950.98 euros and, for those who are entitled to 100% of the regulatory base, the monthly pension indicated is 815.12 euros, before any supplement to the Spanish minimum. In Portugal, the structure is not the same, because the self-employed worker contributes based on the relevant income and not based on a fixed minimum base chosen on the same terms. Furthermore, there is a minimum contribution of 20 euros in certain situations, but this does not correspond to a minimum contribution base comparable to the Spanish one.
Still, the concern is similar. A self-employed person who spends much of their career paying little could reach retirement with a reduced statutory pension. The Portuguese question should not just be “what is the minimum base?”, but rather: what remunerations were recorded in Social Security throughout your career?
Mixed careers can change the calculation
Many independent workers were not always independent. There are those who have worked for themselves, issued green receipts for a few years, returned to an employment contract or deducted for other schemes. These periods may count for the purposes of the guarantee period, access to early pension and training fee calculation, as long as they do not overlap and comply with applicable rules. Decree-Law No. 187/2007 mentions, among others, the convergent social protection regime, special regimes, the banking sector and foreign regimes covered by international instruments. This detail is relevant for those who have worked in different systems throughout their lives or have had career periods outside of Portugal.
How to find out the real value of your pension
The safest way to find out how much you could receive is to consult Previdência Direta and use the pension simulator. The gov.br portal indicates that the amount to be received depends on the social protection system for which the person made contributions, the discounts made and the age at which they retire. The same guide recommends the Direct Pension simulator to obtain an estimate of the retirement value. The Social Security Old-Age Pension Practical Guide also states that the simulator can be used to estimate the old-age pension, whether anticipated or not, and to understand the likely value in a future year, although the simulation applies the general formula and does not take into account all special situations. Before that, it is advisable to check that the contributions are all registered, that there are no missing months and that the quarterly statements were submitted correctly.
Deducting little may seem advantageous at present, because it reduces the amount to be paid each month to Social Security. But these immediate savings may have a future cost. The pension is built up throughout your career and depends on the earnings that are recorded. If these values are low for decades, the reform could also reflect this reality, even if the legal minimums end up mitigating the loss in some cases. In the end, the rule is simple: in Portugal, a self-employed worker’s pension does not just depend on having worked for many years. It mainly depends on how much was registered for Social Security during those years, the age at which you file for retirement, and the minimum rules or penalties applicable to your case.
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