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How Your Years Working Abroad Count toward a Pension in Portugal

EU aggregation rules, the pro rata pension, bilateral social security agreements, and the forms that tie your careers together.

How Your Years Working Abroad Count toward a Pension in Portugal

Last verified: September 2026.

Who this is for

  • Residents of Portugal who paid social security in another EU country, the UK, or Switzerland.
  • Residents who worked in a country with a Portuguese social security agreement, such as the US, Canada, or Brazil.

Not for you if: you worked only in Portugal. Read Applying for the State Old-Age Pension in Portugal.

Updated September 2026. Portugal's pension age is 66 years and 9 months in 2026 and rises to 66 years and 11 months in 2027.

Years you worked abroad are not lost when you retire in Portugal. EU rules and Portugal's social security agreements let countries add up your years so you reach the minimum needed for a pension. Each country then pays its own share. You usually make one claim, through Segurança Social if you live in Portugal. Apply at least six months before you want the pension to start. Cross-border claims take longer than domestic ones. Applying is free.

Which rules cover your career

If you worked in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland: the EU coordination rules apply. Every country counts the others' insurance periods.

If you worked in the UK: the UK is covered through the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and the UK and EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Old-age pensions are coordinated in much the same way.

If you worked outside Europe: it depends on whether Portugal has an agreement with that country. Portugal has agreements covering old-age pensions with:

  • Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, Quebec, Chile, Ecuador, and El Salvador
  • India, Moldova, Morocco, Mozambique, Paraguay, and the Philippines
  • Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uruguay, the United States, and Venezuela

Australia also has an agreement with Portugal. Check with Segurança Social how it applies to your years there. Many Latin American countries are also linked through the Ibero-American social security convention.

If you worked in a country with no agreement: those years do not count in Portugal. You may still claim a pension directly from that country under its own rules.

How adding up your years works

To get a Portuguese old-age pension, you need at least 15 calendar years with recorded contributions. They do not have to be in a row.

If you have fewer Portuguese years, your years in other covered countries are added to reach the 15. This is called aggregation, or totalisation.

Example: you paid into the Portuguese system for 8 years and the German system for 20 years. On Portuguese years alone, you get nothing. With aggregation, you pass the 15-year test, and Portugal pays you a pension for its share.

Your contributions are not moved between countries. Each country keeps its own record and pays its own share.

How much each country pays

Each country where you worked works out what it owes you in two ways. You get the higher of the two.

  1. National pension: based only on your years in that country, if they are enough on their own.
  2. Pro rata pension: the country works out the pension you would get if your whole career had been there. It then pays the share that matches the years you actually worked there.

Example: your whole career is 30 years, and 10 were in Portugal. Portugal calculates a pension as if you had 30 Portuguese years. It then pays one third of that.

Short periods: if you worked less than a year in one country, it may pay nothing. Those months are not lost. The other countries count them when they work out your pension.

The result is usually several smaller pensions, each paid by a different country into your bank account.

How to apply

  1. Gather your records. Collect your social security numbers, payslips, and work certificates from every country. In Portugal, check your contribution record (carreira contributiva) in Segurança Social Direta. If you have no Portuguese number yet, see Getting a Social Security Number (NISS) in Portugal.
  2. Apply where you live. If you live in Portugal, apply to Segurança Social, even for your foreign pensions. The exception is if you never worked in Portugal: then apply in the last country where you worked.
  3. List every country. On the claim, name every country where you worked or were insured, with dates and your numbers there.
  4. Apply early. Contact Segurança Social at least six months before you want your pension to start.

Segurança Social passes your claim to the other countries electronically. Each country then sends you its own decision.

For the Portuguese claim itself, you use the pension application form (Mod. RP 5068-DGSS). Apply online in Segurança Social Direta or at a counter. Foreign residents also bring a residence permit and NIF. The rest of the process is the same as for a purely Portuguese pension.

The P1 summary and reviewing decisions

When every EU country has decided, you get a summary of the decisions (the P1 document). It shows how each country treated your claim.

Read it carefully. If a decision seems to harm your rights, the EU rules let you ask that country to review it. Do this soon after you receive the P1.

Different pension ages in each country

Each country pays from its own pension age. Portugal's normal pension age is 66 years and 9 months in 2026, and 66 years and 11 months in 2027. Another country may pay at 67, or earlier.

You cannot make a country pay before its own pension age. So your income may arrive in stages, as each country's pension starts.

Taking one pension early can reduce another. Portugal's early retirement cuts apply to the Portuguese share exactly as they would for someone who only worked in Portugal. See Claiming an Early Retirement Pension in Portugal.

If you worked in the UK

This applies to anyone with UK National Insurance years.

  • For the UK State Pension: contact the UK's International Pension Centre. You can claim within 4 months of your UK State Pension age.
  • For the Portuguese pension: apply to Segurança Social as above. Your UK years can count towards Portugal's 15-year minimum.

If you receive a UK State Pension and live in Portugal, the UK pays for your Portuguese state healthcare. Register an S1 form in Portugal to use it.

Tax and healthcare once the money arrives

Tax: if you are tax resident in Portugal, you declare foreign pensions on your Portuguese tax return (Anexo J of the IRS form). The tax treaty with the paying country decides who taxes it. Government service pensions are often taxed only in the paying country. See Declaring Foreign Income in Portugal.

Healthcare: if your only state pension comes from another EU country or the UK, that country usually pays for your healthcare in Portugal. Ask it for an S1 form and register it with Segurança Social. Once you also get a Portuguese pension, Portugal usually takes over.

A quick checklist

  • Collect social security numbers and records from every country you worked in.
  • Check your Portuguese contribution record in Segurança Social Direta.
  • Apply through Segurança Social at least six months before your pension date.
  • Name every country and period on the claim.
  • Expect several pensions, starting at different ages.
  • Check the P1 summary and ask for a review if something looks wrong.
  • Declare foreign pensions on your IRS return, and register an S1 form if it applies.

Sources

This guide is written from official Portuguese and EU sources and, for prices and contact details, the providers' own websites.

Last verified September 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

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