Lisbon, Aug. 19, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal's government has reiterated that it will maintain the current social security system's structure during this parliamentary term and said that the report presented on Tuesday is a further contribution to the public debate on the subject.
This response follows the report entitled «Reforming Pensions in Portugal – Towards a Sustainable, Adequate and Fair System – a Contract between Generations», presented by the working group that the government set up to «propose measures aimed at reforming the social security system».
In a statement sent to Lusa, an official source from the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security said that the report «is a technical and independent study, prepared autonomously by this group, with conclusions and recommendations for which it bears sole responsibility».
«This is yet another contribution to the national public debate on social security policies, which will be published shortly, and which the Government, like any other sovereign bodies or entities, will be able to analyse,» the source added.
Nevertheless, the government reiterates that it «remains committed to maintaining the current social security system without undertaking a structural reform during the current parliamentary term» and makes it clear that «neither recent parliamentary proposals and debates, nor the presentation of this study, have the effect of reopening a process which, for the government, is closed».
At a parliamentary hearing in early July, the Minister for Labour, Solidarity and Social Security had ruled out a ‘structural' reform of the social security system during the current parliamentary term, but acknowledged that complementary measures would be introduced to improve the future prospects of new pensioners.
In response to Socialist MP Ana Paula Bernardo, Palma Ramalho pointed out that the Government's programme focusses on maintaining the current social security system, and acknowledged that it might «be beneficial to introduce one or two mechanisms» designed, in particular, to promote financial literacy, citing supplementary pension schemes as an example.
A structural reform remains «off the government's agenda» for this parliamentary term; the aim is to «gradually introduce the issue, but with due care», they added during the parliamentary hearing.
In response to Mariana Leitão, MP and chair of the Liberal Initiative, Palma Ramalho indicated that the government «will be open to considering the proposals» contained in the final report of the working group set up to study the sustainability of the social security system, as well as those put forward by political parties on matters relating to «supplementary schemes» and which would help «improve the future of new pensioners».
At the same hearing, Palma Ramalho indicated that the government prioritises supplementary pensions over individual capitalisation, emphasising that neither issue constitutes a structural element of the pension system.
The government has set up a working group to «propose measures aimed at reforming Social Security», led by the economist and professor at Universidade Nova, Jorge Bravo.
Its objective is to «define sustainable strategies and concrete measures to ensure the future» of the social security system, taking into account the Government's programme, the recommendations of the Court of Auditors recently published as part of an audit report, and the recommendations of the Social Security Green Paper (produced by a working group appointed by the previous government).
According to the order establishing the working group, the report must contain «proposals and recommendations, including an implementation plan, performance indicators and specific targets for the short, medium and long term».
The group submitted the final report to the Government in July and presented it on Tuesday; amongst the various proposals, it suggests creating new retail-segment public debt instruments to supplement pensions, or adopting occupational pension schemes with automatic enrolment that allow for opt-out.
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