Portugal pension reform report calls for urgent social security updates

A working group coordinated by Jorge Bravo has released a report titled ‘Reformar as Pensões em Portugal – Por um Sistema Sustentável, Adequado e Justo’ (Reforming Pensions in Portugal – For a Sustainable, Adequate and Fair System). The document emphasizes the urgent need for structural reforms to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Portuguese social security system.

The report highlights that economic productivity and growth are essential to maintaining dignified pensions. It calls for greater transparency regarding the responsibilities and costs of the pension system, noting that the consolidated balance of the two contributory regimes has been negative every year between 2014 and 2025.

Key objectives of the proposed reforms include ensuring intergenerational equity, developing complementary regimes, and increasing transparency. The report argues that delaying these decisions risks the rights of future generations and suggests that the debate should focus on responsibility and planning rather than technicalities such as the potential merger of the CGA with the general Social Security system.