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Claiming a Disability Pension in Portugal

Researched and written with AI tools from official sources. How we make our guides

Who can get Portugal's disability pension, the contribution years you need, how much it pays, how to apply, the medical assessment, and how to appeal.

The Portugal Brief 10 min read

Claiming a Disability Pension in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You have paid Portuguese social security and can no longer work because of a permanent illness or disability.
  • You are on long-term sick pay and want to know what comes next.
  • You also worked in another EU country, or a country with a social security agreement with Portugal.

Not for you if: you are off work for a while and expect to recover. Read Claiming Sickness Allowance in Portugal instead.

The disability pension (pensão de invalidez) is a monthly payment from Segurança Social, the social security service. It is for people who can no longer work because of a permanent incapacity that was not caused by their job. You need at least five years of contributions, or three years if you cannot do any work at all. A medical panel decides your level of incapacity. Apply online or at a Segurança Social office, and the first payment arrives on average 150 days after you apply. In 2026 the minimum pension starts at €341.08 a month.

The two types of disability pension

The pension comes in two types. The medical panel decides which one applies to you.

Relative disability (invalidez relativa)Absolute disability (invalidez absoluta)
What it meansYou cannot do your current job, or your last jobYou cannot do any job at all, permanently
Earnings testYou cannot earn more than one third of your normal pay, and you are not expected to recover enough to earn more than half of it within three yearsYou cannot earn anything, and you are not expected to recover before the normal pension age
Contributions you need5 years3 years, or 72 months if you are in the voluntary scheme
Can you work as well?Yes, within limitsNo

The panel looks at your physical, sensory, and mental health, your general condition, your age, your skills, and the work you can still do.

Who can claim

You can claim if you contribute to the general social security scheme as:

  • An employee.
  • A self-employed worker.
  • A company director or manager.
  • A domestic worker.

If you are in the voluntary social insurance scheme (seguro social voluntário), you can claim the absolute disability pension only.

You must meet both of these conditions:

  • Your permanent incapacity is certified by Segurança Social's medical assessment service.
  • You have enough contribution years on the day you apply.

If your incapacity was caused by an accident at work or an occupational disease, this pension does not apply.

How contribution years are counted

From 1994 onwards, a year counts if you worked and paid contributions on at least 120 days in it. Days do not need to be in a row. Years with fewer than 120 days can be added to the following short years until they reach 120. For periods up to the end of 1993, each 12 months of contributions counts as one year.

Contributions in other systems can count. You can add periods from other social protection systems, in Portugal or abroad, to reach the minimum. You need at least one year of contributions in the Portuguese general scheme to do this.

When the minimum does not apply. You may have used up the maximum 1,095 days (about three years) of sickness benefit. If the medical service then certifies a permanent incapacity, you do not need the minimum years.

Sickness benefit first. If you are still expected to recover, sickness benefit is the right payment. Understanding Portugal's Social Security System explains how it works. If your sickness benefit runs out after 1,095 days and you still cannot work, you can get a provisional disability pension. It is paid from the day sickness benefit ends until the medical panel examines you.

How much you get

The monthly pension is your reference pay multiplied by a rate that depends on how many years you contributed.

  • Reference pay is the average of your registered earnings. It is based on your best 10 of the last 15 years, or on your whole career up to 40 years, depending on when you joined social security.
  • The rate is about 2% for each year of contributions, and a little more on lower earnings for careers of 21 years or more.

The rules have several versions depending on when you first registered, so the easiest way to estimate your pension is the pension simulator in Segurança Social Direta.

You are paid 14 times a year. You get a double payment in July and in December.

Minimum pension in 2026. If your calculated pension is low, Segurança Social tops it up to a minimum.

Type and contribution recordMinimum per month (2026)
Relative, under 15 years€341.08
Relative, 15 to 20 years€357.80
Relative, 21 to 30 years€394.82
Relative, 31 years or more€493.52
Absolute, any record€493.52

Extra payments. Depending on your situation, you may also get a dependency supplement (complemento por dependência) if you need another person's help with daily tasks. When you apply online, you can ask for it in the same request, so you only see one medical panel. Former combatants may get further supplements.

Tax. The pension is subject to income tax (IRS). If you have a disability rating of 60% or more, give Segurança Social your multi-purpose disability certificate (Atestado Médico de Incapacidade Multiuso) so the right withholding applies.

How to apply

  1. Check your contribution record. Log in to Segurança Social Direta and open your career record (carreira contributiva) under Trabalho, then Remunerações e contribuições. Make sure every year you worked is there.
  2. Gather your medical evidence. Hospital letters, specialist reports, and test results. Ask your doctor to help with the medical information form you will need at the examination.
  3. Apply online or in person. Online, go to Segurança Social Direta, then Doença, Deficiência e incapacidade, Pensão de Invalidez. You can also use Trabalho, Reforma e invalidez. In person, go to any Segurança Social office, the National Pensions Centre (Centro Nacional de Pensões), or a Loja do Cidadão. Applying is free.
  4. Attend the medical examination. Segurança Social calls you to an examination by its permanent incapacity panel (Comissão de Verificação de Incapacidade Permanente). Bring the completed medical information form and the form describing your last job.
  5. Wait for the decision. Segurança Social says it answers in 150 days on average.

Forms (not needed for the main application if you apply online):

  • Disability pension application, form RP 5072.
  • Declaration on incapacity caused by a third party, form RP 5074.
  • Declaration of other pensions you receive, form RP 5080.
  • For the examination: medical information, form SVI 7, and a declaration of the job you did, form RP 5023.

Documents:

  • A valid identity document, such as your passport or residence permit.
  • Your NIF (tax number) document, if you have no Portuguese citizen card.
  • Proof of address in Portugal, if you are a foreign citizen.
  • A bank document showing your IBAN in your name, if you want payment by transfer.
  • Your multi-purpose disability certificate, if you have a rating of 60% or more.

When payments start and stop

Start. The pension is due from the date the medical panel confirms your incapacity. That date cannot be earlier than the date you applied. If someone else caused your incapacity and paid you compensation, the pension starts only once the payments would add up to that compensation.

Stop for a while. Payments are suspended if you miss a review examination without a reason. The same happens if you do not send medical evidence you are asked for, or fail to report work or another pension. If you live abroad, they also stop if you do not send proof of life when asked. They restart once you fix the problem.

End. The disability pension ends when you reach the normal pension age, which is 66 years and 9 months in 2026 and 66 years and 11 months in 2027. At that point it becomes an old-age pension. See Applying for the State Old-Age Pension in Portugal.

Review. Your incapacity can be reviewed. You can ask for a review after three years on the pension, or Segurança Social can start one.

Working while you receive the pension

If you have relative disability, you can work, within limits. In the same job you had before, your pension plus earnings can reach up to 100% of your updated reference pay. In a different job, the limit is twice your reference pay in the first year. It falls to 1.75 times in the second year, 1.5 times in the third, and 1.33 times after that. Tell the National Pensions Centre when you start work and what you earn.

If you have absolute disability, you cannot combine the pension with work income, unemployment benefit, or sickness benefit.

If you keep working and paying contributions, your pension goes up automatically each year.

Report changes within 30 days. This includes starting or stopping work, getting another pension, and a change of address. Fines run from €50 to €350, and can double if you were overpaid.

If you are refused

If the medical service refuses your claim, you can ask its appeal panel (Comissão de Recurso) to look again. You have 10 days from the official notice of the decision. The appeal panel has two doctors. You can name a third doctor of your own choice, giving their name, professional number, and work address.

If you disagree with the appeal panel, you have three more options, counted from when the decision becomes final:

  • A complaint to your district Segurança Social centre, within 15 working days.
  • An appeal to the President of the Social Security Institute, within three months.
  • A case in the administrative courts, within three months.

If the appeal panel turns you down, you pay its costs. You can then apply again only after six months, unless your health gets worse.

Contributions in other countries

EU, EEA, and Swiss countries. If you worked in another EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland, those years can count toward the minimum. Each country then pays its own share. If you have periods abroad but no pension yet, your Portuguese application is also passed to those countries. Fill in the declaration for the foreign institution (form RP 5071) and your career declaration (form RP 5081).

Countries with a bilateral agreement. Portugal has social security agreements with several non-EU countries. They work in a similar way, but what each one covers varies. Ask Segurança Social how yours applies.

Living abroad. If you live outside Portugal, the pension can still be paid, with limits by country. To avoid tax being withheld in Portugal as well as where you live, ask for relief with forms RFI 21 and RFI 24 from the tax portal.

The details of adding up years abroad are in How Your Years Working Abroad Count Toward a Pension in Portugal.

Civil servants and the unified pension

If you paid into the civil service pension fund, Caixa Geral de Aposentações (CGA), your disability claim may belong with CGA instead. If you paid into both CGA and Segurança Social, you can ask for a unified pension (pensão unificada) that counts both. Tick the unified pension box on the application. You need at least 60 months of contributions in the system that will pay it. If you forget, Segurança Social asks you within 10 days. If you do not answer, you get the general scheme pension if you qualify.

If you have too few contributions, or a serious illness

Special protection for certain illnesses. A special scheme covers people whose illness is expected to cause a fast loss of independence. It includes cancer, multiple sclerosis, ALS, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, rare diseases, and HIV, among others. The special disability pension needs only three years of contributions. Ask Segurança Social whether your illness qualifies.

The social inclusion benefit. If you have a disability rating of 60% or more, you may get the social inclusion benefit (Prestação Social para a Inclusão). You do not need to have paid contributions. You must live legally in Portugal, and your disability must have started before age 55. The base amount for adults is €333.64 a month in 2026, and it can be lower if you have other income. If you also get a disability pension, you need a rating of 80% or more.

Changes from 31 December 2026. A new single social benefit (Prestação Social Única) replaces 13 non-contributory benefits, including the special non-contributory disability pension. It also changes the social inclusion benefit rules. People already receiving the old benefits keep their current conditions during the change. If you are thinking of applying around the end of 2026, ask Segurança Social which benefit applies.

Contacts

  • Segurança Social line: 210 545 400 or 300 502 502, working days from 09:00 to 18:00.
  • Appointments line: 210 548 888 or 300 088 888.

This guide is general information, not legal or medical advice. Rules change; check the official source before you act.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

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

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