Portugal's New Ten-Year Treasury Certificate Opens Monday, Paying 2.35% Now and 3.35% in the Final Year
From Monday 7 July, savers can buy the new Certificados do Tesouro Serie 5 — a ten-year, state-guaranteed product with fixed rates rising from 2.35% in year one to 3.35% in year ten, an average 2.71% a year. Minimum EUR1,000, sold via AforroNet, CTT and Banco BiG.
Portugal is putting a new fixed-rate savings product on the shelf. From Monday, 7 July 2026, savers can subscribe to the Certificados do Tesouro Série 5 (Treasury Certificates, Series 5), a ten-year state-guaranteed instrument whose interest rate is locked in for the full term and climbs the longer the money stays invested.
The resolution creating the series was approved in the Council of Ministers (Conselho de Ministros) and published this week by the IGCP (Agência de Gestão da Tesouraria e da Dívida Pública, the Treasury and Public Debt Management Agency). It arrives at a moment when Portuguese households are already parking record sums in state savings.
How the rate ladder works
Unlike the variable Certificados de Aforro (Savings Certificates), Série 5 pays a schedule of fixed rates that rises with time:
- Year 1: 2.35%
- Years 2–3: 2.45%
- Years 4–5: 2.65%
- Years 6–7: 2.75%
- Years 8–9: 2.85%
- Year 10: 3.35%
Averaged across the decade, that works out at roughly 2.71% a year. Interest is paid out annually rather than reinvested, so there is no compounding — a saver who wants growth on the interest must redeploy it themselves. The minimum subscription is €1,000, only individuals may hold the certificates, and they can be transferred only on the death of the holder. Buyers can walk away after the first year, but early redemption forfeits any interest accrued since the last annual payment.
Why now
Série 5 replaces the older CTPV (Certificados do Tesouro Poupança Valor), whose new subscriptions are suspended from Monday. The switch to a flat, guaranteed ladder is a bet by the Treasury that savers with lower liquidity needs will lock money away for the medium term just as the European Central Bank's rate-cutting cycle drags bank deposit rates lower. Certificates are sold through AforroNet, the Espaços Cidadão (Citizen Spaces), CTT (the postal service) and Banco BiG.
The launch lands days after the IGCP removed the €5,000 online ceiling on Certificados de Aforro, and as the Bank of Portugal tightens mortgage lending rules — a reminder that the state is competing hard for the household euro.
What this means for expats and residents
- A third fixed-rate option: Anyone weighing a bank term deposit against the variable Aforro now has a clearly-priced, decade-long alternative backed by the Portuguese Republic.
- Fixed beats guessing: With rates locked, you know exactly what you will earn — useful if you expect Euribor and deposit rates to keep falling.
- Tax still applies: Interest is subject to the usual 28% withholding on investment income, so factor that into the headline yield.
- Access is easy: You need a Portuguese tax number (NIF) and an AforroNet account; no bank intermediary is required.
For savers who can leave money untouched, Série 5 rewards patience — the real payoff is that final-year 3.35%. For those who may need their cash sooner, the loss-of-interest penalty on early exit is the catch to watch. Subscriptions open Monday, and given the appetite Portuguese households have shown for state paper, the Treasury will not have to wait long to see how it sells.
