Seven in Ten Young Adults Would Rethink Having Children if They Had to Care for a Relative: How Portugal's Carer Status Works

Almost seven in ten young adults in Portugal say they would change their plans to have children if they later had to look after a relative, according to the FutURe 2026 barometer, a survey for the pharmaceutical company Merck released on the eve of European Fertility Week, which runs from Monday to 8 November. Among those, 30 percent say they would postpone the decision, Lusa reported, as carried by Observador; Público put it as one in three young people saying caring duties could push parenthood back.

The survey questioned 1,200 people aged 18 to 34 in Portugal. For families with ageing parents, it is worth knowing that relatives who take on this work can claim a legal status, with support attached.

What the survey found

According to Lusa's account of the results:

• 1.2 percent of respondents already care for a relative, 43.3 percent think it likely they will, and 30.3 percent think it very likely, mostly to look after their parents.
• 80.7 percent prefer to secure financial stability first and have children afterwards, and more than half name financial instability as the main reason for delaying parenthood.
• 35.9 percent see access to housing as Portugal's biggest challenge over the next 20 years, ahead of population ageing (26 percent).

The release coincided with 15 recommendations to the Government from the Movimento +Fertilidade, an alliance of reproductive medicine bodies and the Portuguese Fertility Association. They include a fertility counselling appointment at health centres for people aged 20 to 35, incentives for companies that support parenthood and the care of relatives, and more flexibility in the right of parents to cut their working hours by up to 20 percent.

What the law offers carers

The Estatuto do Cuidador Informal (informal carer statute, Lei n.º 100/2019, as amended up to Decreto-Lei n.º 138/2025) recognises two kinds of carer:

• Principal carer (cuidador informal principal): a spouse, partner or relative up to the fourth degree who provides permanent care, with proven mutual support and shared resources, whether or not they share a tax address, and who earns no pay from work or for the care. A non-relative can qualify if they live with the person at the same tax address.
• Non-principal carer (cuidador informal não principal): someone who cares regularly but not permanently and may keep a paid job.

The person cared for must need permanent care and normally receive the second-degree complemento por dependência (dependency supplement) or the subsídio por assistência de terceira pessoa (third-party assistance allowance); temporary dependency can also count, subject to a medical assessment.

A recognised non-principal carer is entitled to measures that help combine work and care, including contributions credited for periods of part-time work. A principal carer can claim the means-tested subsídio de apoio ao cuidador informal principal (principal carer allowance). Both have a right to rest periods.

How to apply

Recognition is decided by Social Security on a request made at its offices or through the Segurança Social Direta portal, with the cared person's consent wherever possible. Social Security's document checklist lists:

• form CI 1 (request for recognition) and form CI 12 (the cared person's declarations);
• valid ID for carer and cared person (a residence permit is accepted);
• form RV 1017 if either is not yet registered with Social Security;
• for the allowance, form CI 2, plus the CI 13 household income declaration when applying online.

If the parent does not yet receive a dependency benefit, that claim can be made at the same time, but the carer request is only assessed once the benefit is approved.

Parents weighing these choices may also want to follow the parental leave reform now before parliament.