Portugal pension systems face 228 billion euro deficit

An analysis of Portugal's pension systems reveals a significant combined deficit when accounting for both the Social Security system and the Caixa Geral de Aposentações (CGA). While Social Security currently shows a surplus due to increased contributions from new public employees, high employment levels, and state budget transfers, the CGA faces an annual deficit as its revenues cover only one-third of its pension expenses.

The Court of Auditors has quantified the actuarial deficit for these assumed responsibilities at approximately 228 billion euros, an amount nearly equivalent to the country's annual GDP. Experts suggest that the pension systems should be analyzed as a single entity to reflect the true nature of these financial obligations.