Family allowance for Children and Young People and other family benefits

A prenatal allowance can be claimed by the mother-to-be during her pregnancy or within 6 months of the month following the birth of the child.

To receive this benefit, the pregnant woman must meet all of the following conditions

1. Have reached the 13th week of pregnancy;
2. Have a household income equal to or less than 1.7 x Social Assistance Index (SAI) x 14;
3. Have no movable assets (e.g. bank accounts, shares and investment funds, etc.) exceeding 240x Social Support Index (IAS).
4. Reside in Portugal or have resident status.

If the pregnant woman or mother is covered by the general social security scheme (Segurança Social [SS]), she can apply for this allowance:

• Online at Direct Social Security (Segurança Social Direta), after filling in the online form and submitting the required documents, or,
• In person, at the Social Security offices, by submitting the relevant printed forms, available on the Social Security website (Mod. RP 5045 - DGSS).

- For employers enrolled in the Convergent Social Protection Scheme (Retirement Pension Scheme - Caixa Geral de Aposentações [CGA]), as there is no specific form for this purpose, the request must also be made using form Mod. RP 5045 - DGSS - Social Security.

Proof of the request must be sent to SGRH (sgrh@uc.pt, by post or delivered to the Service Unit via the addresses available on the SGRH website).

Regardless of whether the claimant is registered with the CGA or the Social Security (SS), she must submit the following documents

1. A valid identity document (national identity card, identity card, civil status certificate, birth certificate or passport);

2. Taxpayer card;

3. Medical certificate stating the date of pregnancy and the number of children to be born (if requested during pregnancy) or identification of the newborn child or children (if requested after birth).

NOTE: Employees covered by the Social Security system must submit any additional documents that may be required.

• The amount of the prenatal allowance depends on the reference income of the household;
• The reference income is determined by adding up the total income of each household member, dividing it by the number of children and youth entitled to family allowance in the household (plus one), and then adding the number of unborn children.

The prenatal allowance is paid as follows:

Social Support Index (IAS):

2021 = 438,81€
2022 = 443,20€
2023 = 480,43€

If the child is born after the 40th week of pregnancy:

• You can receive the prenatal allowance up to and including the month of birth. In this case, you may receive the prenatal family allowance for more than 6 months.

If the child is born prematurely (before 40 weeks):

• You will receive the prenatal family allowance for 6 months, which can be combined with the family allowance for children and young people after the birth.

In the event of miscarriage or voluntary termination of pregnancy:

• You can receive this benefit up to and including the month it occurred, and you must inform Social Security/your employer.

If you did not claim this allowance during pregnancy, you can do so within six months of the child's birth (counted from the month following the birth). In this case, you can claim both prenatal allowance and family allowance for children and young people.

NOTE: Failure to apply within this 6-month period will result in the loss of eligibility for prenatal family allowance.

Children or young people qualify for this family benefit if:

• Their household does not have movable assets (bank accounts, shares, investment funds and other financial assets) of an amount higher than 122.222,40 € at the time of the claim
• They are resident in Portugal or an equivalent situation;
• Whose household has a reference income equal to or lower than the amount established for the 3rd income echelon (11.434,23€);
• They are institutionalised;
• They do not work, unless during school holidays under a contract of employment pursuant to Articles 83-A et seq. of Law 110/2009, of 16 September 2009 (Code of contributory schemes of the social security system) - in which case the work performed may not exceed the duration of the school holidays established for the respective level of education.

NOTE: Entitlement to family allowance is subject to a means test (i.e. the income and assets of the person claiming social security or social assistance and their household. In the case of family allowance, the limit is 240 times the value of the social support index (IAS), i.e. €106,368.00 [240 x €443.20]).

Family allowance can be claimed by

• Parents;
• The legal representative;
• The person or organisation who has custody of the child or young person;
• The person themselves, if they are over 18.

NOTE: If more than one child or young person is receiving Family Allowance in the same household, the same person must always make the claim.

• Employees enrolled in the Social Security System can apply for the benefit online at www.seg-social.pt via Segurança Social Direta or at a citizen's shop or Social Security offices with the form Mod.RP5045-DGSS accompanied by the documents indicated therein;
• Employees covered by the CGA must complete the same form and send it to the SGRH by 31 October of each calendar year (by mail to sgrh@uc.pt or to the relevant service unit via the addresses available on the SGRH website).

Employees registered with the SS or CGA must submit the following documents

• Ratified parental responsibility agreement (ratified by the registry office or court);
• Judicial decision on the regulation of parental responsibilities (if there is no agreement): the document to be submitted is the decision issued in the context of the action to regulate the exercise of parental responsibilities;
• Proof of the application for the regulation of parental responsibilities at the registry office or the court (if there is still no approved agreement/decision or if the procedure for the regulation of parental responsibilities has not been initiated).

In the case of persons registered with the SS, this procedure will be carried out at the SS upon presentation of the necessary documents.

NOTE: Only workers registered with the CGA are obliged to send these documents to the SGRH, as described in the previous question.

• The allowance is paid up to the age of 16 without requiring any additional documentation, (namely proof of school enrolment)
• Between the ages of 16 and 24 (taking into account situations in which the young person turns 16 during the following school year), it is necessary to submit proof of school enrolment in July of each calendar year in order to maintain entitlement to the family allowance for children and young people;
• Young people with disabilities do not have to provide proof of school attendance until they reach the age of 24;
• Children and young people who, in the course of the school year, reach the age limit for receiving the benefit in relation to the level of education they are attending (i.e. 18, 21 or 24), retain their entitlement to the benefit until the end of that year.

R. In this particular case, if the conditions for payment are met, the child aged 12 will be entitled to the allowance without having to provide any additional documentation. As for the 17-year-old, he or she must provide proof of enrolment for the school year in question, and the 25-year-old will not be entitled to the allowance, except in the case of a young disabled person who provides proof of school enrolment.

NOTE: For all intents and purposes, the levels of education mentioned above correspond to primary, secondary and higher education respectively.

This family benefit amount is determined according to the respective income level, which varies according to the household reference income and the year to which it refers to.

NOTE: For more detailed information on how these allowances are calculated, please refer to GO086 "Granting of family benefits", which is available at MOS.

If the proof of school attendance is not submitted within the time limit established for that purpose, the family benefit payment will be suspended right from the beginning of the school year (September).

Proof of school attendance submitted after the time limit established for that purpose:

• if it is submitted until 31 December of the school year concerned, the family benefit payment is resumed and the suspended amounts are paid;
• if submitted as of 1 January of the school year concerned, without a reasonable justification, the family benefit payment will be resumed only on the first day of the month following the date of school proof submission and the beneficiary will no longer be entitled to the suspended amounts.

NOTA: Exceptionally, in situations where the young person has not been able to enrol due to the rules on access to higher education, their right to the allowance may be maintained under the conditions set out in Article 21 of Decree Law 176/2003, a matter to be assessed by the employer.

The holder/beneficiary must notify the Social Security services within 10 days of any change of

circumstances that may affect the family benefit payment:

▪ If the youngster stops his/her studies.

▪ If the young person starts working, except if the work is carried out under an employment

contract during his/her school holidays.

▪ If there is a change of residence (address)

▪ If there are changes in the household composition and/or income, namely in situations where the household becomes a single-parent household or vice versa.

NOTE: The employee must make this notification, under penalty of having to reinstate any unduly received allowances.

The child or young person with a disability:

• In the care of the beneficiary (of whom he/she is a descendant);
• Who requires individualised educational and/or therapeutic assistance;
• who attends, is admitted to or is in a position to attend or be admitted to a specialised rehabilitation institution;
• who is not engaged in a professional activity covered by a compulsory social security scheme (he/she does not carry out an activity that requires him/her to pay contributions to a social security scheme or a similar body).

NOTE: Only households whose total movable assets (bank deposits, shares, savings certificates or other financial assets) are less than EUR 106 368.00 (240 times IAS) are eligible for this benefit.

The disability bonus can be claimed by

• By the beneficiary and his/her spouse;
• The person with whom the child/young person lives and has custody and care of;
• By the young person himself/herself, if he/she is over 16 years of age.

• For workers registered with the SS, the application must be submitted directly to the SS, online or in person, using the form RP5034-DGSS provided by the SS and accompanied by the required documents;
• For workers registered with the CGA, the application must be made directly to the SGRH, using the form provided by the SS (form RP5034-DGSS) or by submitting an open request in one of the ways mentioned in question 5 of the family allowance for children and young people.

Children up to the age of 10 who present a certificate issued by a multidisciplinary medical/educational assessment team or a certificate issued by a specialist or assistant doctor by 31 October of each calendar year are entitled to a disability bonus.

In the case of duly documented permanent disability, the annual renewal requirement will be waived.

NOTE: Children over the age of 10, but whose application was submitted by 30 September 2019 (previous rules) and who are receiving the bonus, will remain eligible until the age of 24, provided that the conditions that justified the bonus are met.

• Within six months of the month following the month during which the disability is declared;
• If you apply after this deadline, you will only be entitled to the bonus from the month following the application.

Requested before 30 September 2019:

Requested after 1 October 2019:

• Up to 30 days per year in the case of a child under the age of 12, or regardless of age, a child with a disability/chronic illness;
• Up to 15 days per year in the case of a child aged 12 or over who, if older, is a member of the household;
• Unrestricted during the period of hospitalisation of a child under 12 years of age or, irrespective of age, with a disability or chronic illness, whereby this right cannot be claimed simultaneously by the father and the mother or equivalent.

NOTE: The periods indicated above are increased by 1 day for each child in addition to the first.

• The employee has the right to be absent from work for up to 15 days a year to provide urgent and essential care in the event of illness or accident to a spouse or person living in a de facto union or partnership with the employee, a relative or family member in the direct ascending line or the second degree of the collateral line (brothers/sisters/brothers/sisters-in-law);
• In the case of unavoidable and indispensable assistance to a person with a disability or chronic illness who is the employee's spouse or partner, 15 days per year shall be added to the above period of absence.

NOTE: In the case of assistance to a relative or family member in the direct ascending line (father, mother, grandparents, great-grandparents), such assistance does not have to be provided in the same household.

• If foreseeable, absences to care for a family member must be notified to the public employer at least 5 days in advance;
• If unforeseeable, such absences must be reported as soon as possible.

• Proof of illness and care for a family member must be provided by means of a medical certificate, known as a Temporary Incapacity Certificate (CIT), which the doctor and the health establishment must stamp;
• In the case of the care of a child, the following documents must also be submitted:
• Proof of the unavoidable and indispensable nature of the care;
• A declaration that the other household members, if they are engaged in professional activity, have not been absent for the same reason or are unable to provide care.

• Absences to care for family members do not result in the loss of any rights, except for pay;
• Any allowances to which employees are entitled are paid by the social security system, except in the case of employees covered by the Convergent Social Protection Scheme, in which case they are paid directly by the employer;
• For workers in the Convergent Social Protection Scheme (workers hired up to 31.12.2005 who pay into the Caixa Geral de Aposentações), the amounts to be paid are equal to 100% of the beneficiary's reference remuneration applicable to child or family care.

Yes, the employee is entitled to leave for consecutive periods of up to 6 months, which can be extended up to a maximum of 4 years.

In situations where there is a need for extended care, confirmed by a medical certificate, the leave can be extended up to a maximum of 6 years.

• The absent employee loses the right to pay during the period of absence, without prejudice to the possible granting of an allowance as described in the following question;
• Leave is suspended if the employee is ill;
• Leave cannot be suspended for the convenience of the public employer;
• Taking this leave does not affect the employee's right to access the regular updated information provided by the employer to all employees;
• The leave ends with the cessation of the circumstances that initiated it;
• At the end of the leave, the employee has the right to return to work;
• The leave suspends the rights, obligations and guarantees of the parties insofar as they require the effective provision of work, but does not affect the right to social benefits from the applicable health subsystem (e.g. in this case, the absent worker can continue to pay contributions to the ADSE).

Yes, you are entitled to a compensation equal to 65% of your reference salary, with a maximum monthly limit of twice the IAS, defined as follows

• RR = R/180, where R = the total remuneration recorded during the first 6 calendar months immediately preceding the second month before the start of the impediment to work, or
• RR = R/(30xn), if there is no record of earnings in this 6-month period because the contribution periods have been added together, where R = total earnings recorded from the beginning of the reference period to the day before the incapacity for work and n = number of months to which they relate.

NOTE: In the case of a worker covered by the RGSS, all allowances are paid by this body. On the other hand, in the case of a worker registered with the CGA, the payment of the corresponding allowance is guaranteed by the employer. In both cases, in order to receive this allowance, the worker must submit the documents mentioned in the following question.

Employees who wish to take this leave must notify their employer 30 days before the start of the leave by submitting a declaration on honour, that includes the following information

a.The beginning and end of the period during which they intend to take leave;

b. That the other parent has a professional activity and is not on leave at the same time, or is unable to or impeded from exercising his or her parental responsibilities;

c.That the minor lives with him/her in the same household;

d. That the maximum period of leave has not been reached.

In the case of an employee registered with the Social Security (SS), this documentation must be submitted to the SS using the form Mod.RP5053-DGSS provided by the SS:

• At the Direct Social Security Service or the Social Security Offices;
• At Citizen Shops;

with the documents indicated on the form.

In the case of a worker who subscribes to the CGA, in the absence of a specific form, the worker may submit the aforementioned model approved by the SS or simply the aforementioned declaration on honour, accompanied by a medical certificate attesting to the child's disability/chronic or oncological illness.