The Rendimento Social de Inserção (RSI) in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to Who Qualifies, the €247.56 Reference Amount and the 100/70/50 Household Scale, the Contrato de Inserção, and the Single Social Benefit That Will Absorb It

The Rendimento Social de Inserção (RSI, Social Integration Income) is Portugal’s minimum-income safety net — a monthly cash benefit for households in extreme poverty, paired with a personalised plan to help them back towards independence. It is run by the Segurança Social (Social Security) and is non-contributory, meaning you do not need a record of paid contributions to claim it; it is means-tested instead. This guide sets out who qualifies in 2026, how the amount is worked out, how to apply, and the obligations that come attached.

One thing to know up front: RSI is small and shrinking in reach. Around 160,000 people in some 78,000 households were receiving it in early 2026 — the lowest level in about two decades — with an average of roughly €160 per person, or about €336 per household, a month. It is a floor to keep the poorest from destitution, not a comfortable income.

The two halves of RSI

RSI is not just a cheque. By law — Lei 13/2003 (Law 13/2003), with its later amendments and the implementing Portaria (Ministerial Order) 257/2012 — it has two inseparable parts. The first is the prestação pecuniária (cash benefit) that tops a household’s income up to a legal minimum. The second is a contrato de inserção (Social Integration Contract), a negotiated action plan of steps — job-seeking, training, children’s schooling, health care — designed to move the household towards autonomy. Accept the money and you accept the plan; the two cannot be separated.

Who qualifies

You must meet every one of the following conditions:

Legal residence. Citizens of the EU, the European Economic Area or a state with an EU free-movement agreement need only be legally resident. Other foreign nationals must have been legally resident in Portugal for at least one year (recognised refugees need a valid refugee residence permit). This corrects a widely repeated myth of a three-year wait for non-EU residents — the current official guide says one year.

Age. You must be 18 or over. Under-18s can apply only in narrow cases — for example if they are pregnant, have lived in a marriage or união de facto (de facto union) for more than two years, or have dependants — and earn more than €173.29 a month.

Low income. Your household’s countable monthly income must fall below the maximum RSI amount for its size (see below). Someone living alone must have income under €247.56 a month.

Modest assets. The household’s património mobiliário (movable wealth — bank deposits, shares, bonds, savings certificates, fund units) must not exceed €32,227.80, which is 60 times the Indexante dos Apoios Sociais (IAS, Social Support Index). Your own home only counts towards the means test if it is worth more than €241,708.50.

Availability for work. If you are able to work, you must register as unemployed and available at your local IEFP (Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional, the Employment and Vocational Training Institute) centre. Students aged 16 or over and people medically unable to work are exempt, with proof. If you left a job voluntarily without good cause, you must wait a year before applying.

You also have to consent to Social Security checking your financial information, and commit to signing the integration contract.

How much it pays in 2026

RSI works on a household scale built around a single reference amount. For 2026 that amount, fixed by Portaria 71/2026, is €247.56 a month (it rises each year roughly in step with the IAS, which stands at €537.13 in 2026). The household maximum is then built up as follows:

• The first adult (the applicant): 100% = €247.56
• Each additional adult: 70% = €173.29
• Each child under 18: 50% = €123.78

Add those together for everyone in the household to get the maximum RSI figure. The benefit actually paid is that maximum minus the household’s countable income (broadly 80% of net earnings from work plus other income). If the household has no income, it receives the full maximum; if it has some, the benefit tops it up to the ceiling.

Worked example. A couple with two young children have a maximum of €247.56 + €173.29 + €123.78 + €123.78 = €668.41 a month. If they have €400 of countable income, they receive €668.41 − €400 = €268.41. If they have no income at all, they receive the full €668.41. (One caution: ignore the old “43.5% of the IAS” rule of thumb still floating around online — for 2026 the reference amount is fixed directly at €247.56, not calculated as a percentage.)

How to apply

The simplest route is online through Segurança Social Direta (the Social Security self-service portal), using the e-Clic channel: follow Ação Social → Apoios e Respostas Sociais → Rendimento Social de Inserção. You can also apply in person at any Serviço de Atendimento (Social Security customer service office).

If you file on paper, the main form is the RSI 1 (requerimento, or application), accompanied by form RV 1017 to identify everyone in the household in the system. You will need valid identification and a tax number for the applicant and every household member, recent payslips (the last month, or three months if income varies), and proof of legal residence — a certificado de registo (registration certificate) for EU citizens, or a residence permit showing at least a year for non-EU nationals. Everyone must have a NISS (Número de Identificação de Segurança Social, the Social Security identification number). Entitlement runs from the date your application is complete, and payment arrives by bank transfer or postal order.

The integration contract — and what happens if you break it

Within 45 days of the grant, you and the household sign the contrato de inserção with the Núcleo Local de Inserção (NLI, the Local Integration Unit) — a multidisciplinary team, coordinated by Social Security, that negotiates and monitors the plan. It commits you to being available for suitable work, socially useful activity or training; to attending the NLI’s meetings; to sending children to school; and to informing Social Security of any change in income, household or address within 10 business days.

The penalties for non-compliance are steep, and this is where many claims come unstuck. Refusing to sign the contract, or turning down suitable work or training without good reason, costs you the benefit and bars a fresh claim for 24 months. Failing to carry out an agreed measure, or a household member refusing to sign, brings a 12-month loss (that member’s income still counts against the household). Making false statements to obtain RSI means no benefit for 24 months and an obligation to repay what you wrongly received.

Duration and renewal

An RSI grant lasts 12 months and renews automatically if you still qualify — Social Security starts the review two months before it lapses, using the data it holds. Your duty to report changes within 10 business days runs throughout; a benefit can be suspended and, if problems persist beyond the legal limits, cancelled altogether.

What changes at the end of 2026

RSI is about to be folded into a bigger reform. The government has legislated the Prestação Social Única (Single Social Benefit), which merges 13 non-contributory supports — RSI among them — into one payment, with a reference value set at €268.60 (half the IAS), an increase of about 8.5% on today’s RSI figure. The new benefit is due to take effect on 31 December 2026, with transition rules meant to protect existing recipients. Until then, anyone in need applies for RSI under the rules above; from year-end, expect the amounts, the name and some of the mechanics to change, so check for updates before you file late in the year.

The bottom line

RSI is Portugal’s last line of defence against destitution: a means-tested top-up of a few hundred euros a month, tied to a genuine obligation to work towards self-sufficiency. The sums are modest and the conditions strict, but for a household with almost nothing coming in — including foreign residents who clear the one-year threshold — it can be the difference between paying the rent and not. If you think you may qualify, the online Segurança Social Direta application is free and the worst outcome is a refusal.