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Claiming the Elderly Solidarity Supplement (CSI) in Portugal

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

Who can get the CSI top-up on a low pension, the income limits, the six-year residence rule, how the amount is worked out, and how to apply.

The Portugal Brief 8 min read

Claiming the Elderly Solidarity Supplement (CSI) in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You are over pension age, have lived in Portugal for at least six years, and have a low income.
  • You get a small pension from Portugal or abroad, or have no pension at all.
  • You get a disability pension but not the social inclusion benefit.

Not for you if: you still need to claim your main pension. Read Applying for the State Old-Age Pension in Portugal first.

The solidarity supplement for older people (complemento solidário para idosos, or CSI) is a monthly top-up from Segurança Social for people on a low income. It brings a single person's yearly income up to €8,040 in 2026, so up to €670 a month. You must be at least 66 years and 9 months old in 2026, and have lived in Portugal for six years in a row. Your income and savings are checked.

CSI also gives you free subsidised medicines. You apply online or at a Segurança Social office, and payment starts the month after your claim is complete.

Who qualifies

You must meet all of these conditions.

1. Age, or a disability pension.

  • You are at least 66 years and 9 months old in 2026. The age rises to 66 years and 11 months in 2027, in line with the pension age.
  • Or you get a disability pension and do not get the social inclusion benefit (Prestação Social para a Inclusão). In that case, there is no age limit.

2. Six years living in Portugal. You must have lived in Portugal, or be treated as resident, for at least six years in a row.

3. A pension, or a refused social pension. You get an old-age or survivor's pension. This can come from Segurança Social, the civil service scheme, or a foreign system. If you get no pension at all, you must first claim the social old-age pension and have it refused because your income is too high for it. More on this below.

4. Low income. Your yearly gross income, before deductions, must be no more than:

Your situationIncome limit (2026)
Single€8,040 a year
Married, or living as partners for more than two years€14,070 a year for the couple, and no more than €8,040 for you

5. Consent and other benefits. You must allow Segurança Social to check your tax and bank information. You must also be willing to claim any other benefit you are entitled to.

The social pension step

The social old-age pension (pensão social de velhice) is a small, non-contributory pension. In 2026 it is €262.40 a month. It is only for people with a gross monthly income of no more than €214.85 if single, or €322.28 for a couple.

If you are over pension age, you can only get CSI if you do not qualify for the social pension. So:

  • If you get no pension at all, claim the social pension first, or at the same time. Use form RP 5002 with your CSI claim. If it is refused because your income is above the limit, you can then get CSI.
  • If you get only a survivor's pension, also attach form RP 5002. Segurança Social will check whether you are entitled to it.

What counts as income

Segurança Social adds up the gross yearly income of you and your spouse or partner. It counts:

  • pay from a job, including holiday and Christmas pay;
  • self-employed and business income;
  • interest, dividends, and other investment income;
  • rent from property;
  • gains such as an inheritance, and money from selling a home or other property;
  • all pensions and supplements, from Portugal or abroad;
  • cash benefits, except the funeral grant, the death grant, and social care support;
  • payments Segurança Social makes towards a care home or residential care;
  • a percentage of your savings, investments, and property, except the home you live in;
  • regular money transfers you receive from other people or organisations.

The income of your adult children no longer counts.

Foreign pensions count. If you get a UK, US, Brazilian, or other foreign pension, declare it, even if it is small.

How much you get

CSI tops up your income to the reference amount. The monthly payment is one twelfth of the gap between the reference amount and your yearly income.

Example. You are single. Your pension is €5,000 a year. The gap to €8,040 is €3,040. Your CSI is €3,040 divided by 12, which is €253.33 a month.

The most a single person can get is €670 a month, if they have no other income at all.

For a couple, the same sum uses €14,070 as the reference amount.

The amounts are updated each year. The 2027 reference amount had not been published when we checked.

Free medicines and other health help

If you get CSI, you also get extra health benefits (Benefícios Adicionais de Saúde). You do not have to apply for them separately.

  • Medicines. You get medicines that the state already part-funds free of charge. Just show your prescription at the pharmacy. This starts after your first CSI payment.
  • Glasses and lenses. Segurança Social refunds part of the cost.
  • Dental prostheses. Segurança Social also refunds part of the cost.

For how medicine co-payments work for everyone else, see Paying Less for Prescription Medicines in Portugal.

Other discounts CSI can unlock

  • Energy. CSI recipients qualify for the social energy tariff on electricity and gas. It is usually applied automatically. See Getting the Social Energy Tariff in Portugal.
  • Public transport. CSI recipients can get a discount on monthly passes through the Circula PT scheme. Ask the company that issues your pass.

How to apply

  1. Gather your income and asset papers. You will need proof of every pension and of your savings and property.
  2. Fill in the claim form. Online, log in to Segurança Social Direta at seg-social.pt. Go to Ação Social, then Apoios e respostas sociais, then Complemento Solidário para Idosos. Or go to Trabalho, then Reforma e invalidez. On paper, use form CSI 1.
  3. Add the income annex. If you have income other than from Segurança Social, fill in form CSI 1/2. The instructions are in form CSI 1/4.
  4. If you are a couple, each of you fills in a CSI 1. You share one income annex.
  5. If someone else should receive the money, such as a relative, fill in form MG 16.
  6. Hand it in online or at any Segurança Social office.

If you have no Portuguese social security number (NISS), also fill in form RV 1017. Both members of a couple need a number.

Documents

Everyone:

  • A valid identity document, such as your citizen card, passport, or residence permit.
  • Your social security card or pensioner card, if you have no citizen card.
  • Your tax number (NIF), if you have no citizen card.
  • A bank document showing your IBAN in your name, for payment by transfer.

Proof of six years in Portugal:

  • Portuguese and EU citizens: a certificate from your parish council (atestado da junta de freguesia).
  • Non-EU citizens: a valid residence permit, another document allowed by the immigration law, or a statement from the authority that shows six years of residence.

If Segurança Social can confirm your residence from its own records, you do not need the certificate. If you cannot afford it, you may get it free or at a reduced price.

If they apply to you:

  • Proof of any pension, supplement, or benefit paid by anyone other than Portuguese Segurança Social.
  • Proof of the date your pension started, if your last job was abroad.
  • For property other than your home: the property tax record (caderneta predial) or a certificate from the tax office (Finanças), and proof of purchase. These should show the situation on 31 December of the year before you apply.
  • For savings and investments: statements from your bank or other institution showing their value.
  • Form RP 5002, if you are claiming the social pension at the same time.

When you are paid

CSI starts from the month after you applied and handed in every document. If you applied in January but sent the last document in March, it counts from April.

If you get a Segurança Social pension, CSI is paid with it. If not, it is paid by bank transfer or postal order.

Keeping CSI: your duties

Within 15 working days, tell Segurança Social if:

  • your address changes;
  • someone joins or leaves your household;
  • anyone in your household starts getting a new public benefit or pension, including from abroad or the civil service scheme.

Make a new claim if your household changes, or your income changes other than Segurança Social pensions. Your CSI is then worked out again.

Send any documents Segurança Social asks for within 15 working days.

Claim other benefits you are told you are entitled to, usually within 60 days.

Pay back any CSI paid to you by mistake.

When CSI stops. It is suspended if you stop meeting a condition, do not report a change, or go to prison. It ends if a suspension lasts two years, if you give false information, or on your death.

If you moved here recently

The six-year rule is strict. If you arrived in Portugal less than six years ago, you cannot get CSI yet, even on a very low income.

Exception for Portuguese citizens returning from abroad. If your last job was outside Portugal, the six years do not apply if:

  • you have lived in Portugal for at least one year when you apply, counting time from the start of your pension to your move here;
  • you have received your pension for less than six years;
  • you have lived in Portugal since your pension started.

What is changing from the end of 2026

From 31 December 2026, a new single social benefit (Prestação Social Única) replaces 13 means-tested payments, including the social old-age pension. CSI itself continues.

  • People already getting the social old-age pension move to the new benefit automatically, with their current amount guaranteed. If they also get CSI, it continues.
  • Holders of the new benefit who are over pension age can also claim CSI.

Segurança Social will publish new procedures. If you plan to apply around the end of 2026, ask which forms apply.

Contacts

  • Segurança Social line: 210 545 400 or 300 502 502, working days, 09:00 to 18:00.
  • Online: seg-social.pt (Segurança Social Direta).

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change often; 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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