After their proposals for permanent pension increases were rejected on the first day of budgetary discussions for the 2026 State Budget, the parties Chega, PS, and PCP chose to resubmit their amendments for plenary debate and voting this morning.
The debate, characterized by appeals from the three parties and government warnings about the risks of approving such increases for pensioners, resulted in the reaffirmation of Thursday’s votes, confirming the rejection of the three proposed amendments.
Chega’s initiative for a 1.5% permanent increase in pensions was rejected with votes against from PSD, CDS, and IL, and abstentions from PS, PCP, and Livre. Supporting votes came from Chega, BE, JPP, and PAN.
The socialist proposal to convert a potential extraordinary pension supplement into a permanent increase faced opposition from PSD, CDS, Chega, and IL, with favorable votes from all left-wing parties, PAN, and JPP. The communist proposal was voted against by PSD, CDS-PP, IL, with abstentions from Chega and PS, and received support from PCP, BE, Livre, PAN, and JPP.
The proposal from PSD and CDS-PP to have the government pay an extraordinary supplement for the lowest pensions in 2026, depending on the public accounts, was confirmed approved.
During the plenary discussion, Secretary of State for Social Security, Susana Filipa Lima, reiterated that “any increase or proposal for an additional increase above the legal minimum” would compromise budgetary balance and “lead Portugal back over the red line into a deficit situation.”
“The truth is that the anticipated permanent income increase for pensioners in 2026 amounts to 940 million euros. Let me repeat, it is not 270, nor 200 million; it is 940 million euros. This means there will be, indeed, a permanent increase in pensioners’ income, naturally larger for those with lower pensions, who, as we know, are the majority of pensioners,” she stated.
Earlier, socialist Miguel Costa Matos urged the government to clarify why, with a 6.6 billion euros surplus in Social Security, 260 million euros could not be mobilized for a permanent pension increase, appealing to parties to support the PS initiative.
“The avocations are not a repeat of yesterday’s debate. They are an opportunity for us to reflect better and correct errors and interpretations. And that is what the PS proposes to this chamber, for the parties to explain why, if there is structural margin, we cannot make a permanent increase in pensions for those who have worked all their lives,” he questioned.
Pedro Frazão from Chega made a “plea to the heart of the Assembly of the Republic” to approve the 1.5% pension increase, arguing that his party’s initiative is “little for those who deserve much,” a “fair, moral, and profoundly humane step.”
PCP deputy Alfredo Maia questioned the Secretary of State for Social Security about whether she “sleeps with a clear conscience” regarding what he called “millions in blackmail over parliament and what this means for people’s lives.”
“For pensioners, there are mere pennies, while for large economic groups there are many, many millions. Madam Secretary of State, I must ask why you do not weigh the benefits, in terms of quality of life for all these pensioners, that would result from the increase proposed by the PCP,” he inquired.
