Lisbon, Oct. 7, 2026 (Lusa) - The Portuguese Parliament on Wednesday approved motions tabled by the PCP and the BE Parties to hear evidence from the minister of labour and the chair of the civil servants' pension scheme, the Caixa Geral de Aposentações (CGA), regarding an error in the calculation of nearly 3,000 pensions.

The announcement was made by the Communist (PCP) parliamentary leader, Paula Santos, and the Left Bloc (BE) sole MP, Fabian Figueiredo, in statements to journalists in Parliament following the leaders' conference meeting.

«It is inconceivable that, after a pension calculated by the Caixa Geral de Aposentações has been awarded, pensioners should now receive a notification from the same body informing them of a cut to their pensions,» criticised Paula Santos, demanding «clarification as soon as possible».

According to Santos, the party's motion calling for a hearing with the minister of labour, solidarity and social security, Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho, and the chair of the Caixa Geral de Aposentações, António José Alves Valente, was approved by the Labour Committee, with the Social Democrats (PSD) voting against and the other parties present voting in favour.

«This is a somewhat unbelievable situation and we want to understand whether or not there has been a change in understanding, even on the part of the CGA itself, regarding the application of the law,» she said.

The BE also announced that its motion to hear the Chair of the CGA had been approved, with Fabian Figueiredo recalling recent remarks by Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro.

«I would like to recall that the prime minister said, not long ago, that if he were forced to cut pensions, he would resign. I am not asking him to resign because he is cutting pensions; the Government must stop cutting pensions because it is interpreting the law retrospectively, thereby breaching three fundamental constitutional principles,» accused Figueiredo.

According to him, the Government is violating «the principle of good faith, the principle of legitimate expectations and the principle of more favourable treatment».

 «We need to make it clear to the Portuguese people that the pensioners who are being adversely affected are, above all, those who have had longer contributory careers – in many cases, teachers who returned to school and the classroom at the Government's request,» he said.

He challenged the Government to suspend this cut and said he hoped that «it would not cross anyone's mind» to ask for this money to be returned.

«We want to know who was responsible, because on the one hand the Government claims there was a ‘software' error, whilst on the other hand it is offering a new interpretation of the law in force. Both cannot be true at the same time,» he argued.

On this matter, the PCP has also submitted questions to the Ministries of Labour and Finance, asking the Government how it «justifies changing the pension calculation to reduce the pension amount» and what measures it «will take to restore the pension amount and avoid harming the pensioners concerned».

Several media outlets have reported that the CGA is set to correct 2,937 pensions awarded between May and August this year, after detecting a calculation error that resulted in them being set above the figure provided for by law.

Today, in Aveiro, the minister of labour, solidarity and social security confirmed that the CGA had made an error in the calculation of nearly three thousand pensions, stating that the excess paid will have to be repaid.

«It is a technical error in the calculation of the pensions, which will naturally be corrected. The CGA has already issued a statement on this matter and, therefore, it will be rectified,» said Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho.

On average, pensioners will receive €93.31 less gross per month.

Maria Ramalho also noted that those who received a pension in excess of what they were entitled to, under the legal framework, will have to repay the overpaid amounts.

«If it is found that an undue payment has been made, they will have to repay it in accordance with the law, but the legal solutions will be agreed with those affected. Moreover, we have been told that people have already received a letter on this matter, and so there are various ways to repay the amount,» she concluded.

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