Lisbon, Aug. 18, 2026 (Lusa) - The working group set up to examine the sustainability of the social security system on Tuesday advocated adopting occupational pension schemes with automatic enrolment and an opt-out.
According to the group's coordinator, Jorge Bravo, this measure would be important «to supplement the state pension, while preserving the option to decline participation», he said during the presentation of the report in Lisbon.
At issue are «retirement savings schemes in which eligible workers are enrolled by default upon signing an employment contract, or, for existing schemes, are automatically enrolled, whilst remaining eligible for the scheme; they always retain the option to exercise an opt-out clause if they prefer not to participate».
In this way, the burden of decision-making is reversed, «because it has been proven, in countries where this system has been adopted, that simply reversing the burden of decision-making from a complementary perspective led to an exponentially greater increase in participation», he explained.
This system would be structured in three phases: the enrolment phase, the savings accumulation phase and the withdrawal phase.
In the decision-making phase, «the worker essentially has to decide whether to participate, and we must define which workers are automatically eligible».
In the accumulation phase, decision-makers must choose a contribution model; that is, what the minimum contribution rates are and how the total contribution is shared between the parties involved: the worker, the employer and the state.
Furthermore, in the decumulation phase, the reimbursement arrangements must be defined, «in other words, how that employee will gain access to their savings», he explained.
The working group proposes a contribution rate of between 8% and 10%, to be introduced «gradually and in phases».
Another measure suggested by the working group is the creation of a youth savings account for children and young people, with automatic enrolment, «to promote pension savings from a very early age».
At the heart of this is the «grão a grão» programme, which also aims to serve as a «pretext» for introducing financial literacy in schools, Jorge Bravo, an economist and coordinator of the working group, explained.
According to the coordinator, this is an individual retirement savings account for children and young people, which is «universal in nature and involves automatic enrolment».
«All children resident in Portugal who are enrolled in the education system would be automatically enrolled and receive public support, should the proposal, of course, be approved,» he concluded.
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