Portugal introduces automated Prenatal Family Allowance

Portugal's Social Security (Segurança Social) has introduced a new automated process for the Prenatal Family Allowance (Abono de Família Pré-Natal) to reduce bureaucracy for expectant mothers.

The system relies on data sharing between the National Health Service (SNS) and Social Security. Once a health professional issues a pregnancy certificate at 13 weeks of gestation, the expectant mother can authorize the sharing of this certificate via the SNS 24 portal or app.

If the eligibility criteria are met, Social Security will automatically generate a proposal for the allowance, which is sent to the user's message box on the Social Security portal. The mother then only needs to accept the proposal within the specified timeframe to receive the benefit.

For those under the convergent regime (public employees), the allowance is processed by the employer through the Caixa Geral de Aposentações, whereas the general regime is handled directly by Social Security.