Lisbon, Aug. 19, 2026 (Lusa) - The Portuguese trade union confederation, CGTP, argued on Wednesday that the report by the working group on social security reform relies on «falsehoods, ambiguities and confusion» to conclude that the system is unsustainable, with the aim of undermining the rights of workers and pensioners.
«This report, commissioned by the government, forms part of a campaign aimed at plundering the vast resources of the social security system and undermining the rights of workers and pensioners, pushing ahead with raising the state pension age [and] abolishing the right to early retirement that is currently recognised, amongst other unacceptable setbacks», the CGTP alleges in a statement.
It maintains that the working group «bases its argument on the unsustainability of the public social security system, and the solutions it advocates for the problem are a mixture of falsehoods, ambiguities and confusion, casting doubt both on the system's current financial robustness and on its very structure and composition».
The CGTP's reaction follows the report «Reforming Pensions in Portugal – Towards a Sustainable, Adequate and Fair System – a Contract between Generations», presented on Tuesday by the working group set up by the Government to «propose measures aimed at reforming social security».
In the trade union confederation's view, the study «deliberately mixes the welfare system of the public social security system with the Caixa Geral de Aposentações (CGA)" [the welfare and pension service for civil servants] with the intention of «casting doubt on the official social security accounts», when in fact these are «systems with very distinct objectives, target groups and methods of financing».
«The State's liabilities towards the CGA have absolutely nothing to do with the social security pension scheme and stem solely from the fact that the State – which, since its inception, has been responsible for social protection, including the payment of pensions to civil servants – has chosen not to fulfil its responsibilities as an employer, and it is unthinkable to entertain the possibility of covering its liabilities using funds from the social security system itself», the CGTP argues.
The social security system «is a contributory scheme, unlike the system managed by the CGA», and therefore «there is no budgetary or accounting confusion», nor is «any money from the CGA being diverted to social security or vice versa».
«Everything is very clear, and any attempt to manipulate the accounts between the two systems is unacceptable. All the confusion surrounding these two systems is nothing more than a ploy designed to mislead and pave the way for introducing measures that weaken the public system and, in this way, cater to the interests of private pension funds linked to the banking and insurance sectors», it emphasises.
Defending the «solidity of the public social security system», the CGTP points out that it recorded a surplus of €6.7323 billion in 2025 and that the Financial Stabilisation Fund reached €49.296 billion in June this year, «representing 15.8% of GDP [Gross Domestic Product] and guaranteeing 28.63 months' worth of pension payments».
In this context, it considers the introduction of any system of individual accounts within the social security system to be «unacceptable» and «categorically rejects» it, as «this would mean the eventual destruction of the current system, which is based on principles of labour and intergenerational solidarity».
«The working group's proposals aim to weaken this fundamental principle of our public social security system, replacing it with a so-called «principle of generational equity», which is closely linked to the sustainability of public finances; this ultimately amounts to a rejection of the pension system's funding model and a revision of the pension calculation formula», it maintains.
As regards supplementary pension schemes, the CGTP notes that some of the report's conclusions «now find support and backing» in the package of measures presented by the European Commission as part of the Savings and Investment Union, «in particular with regard to the creation of systems for the automatic enrolment of workers in supplementary pension schemes, incentivised through tax benefits».
Pointing to a «combination of the Government's desire to open up the social security system to financial speculation and pressure from the European Union in the same direction», the trade union confederation warns that the current moment is «crucial for the defence of the universal and solidarity-based public social security system».
«The intention behind all these moves is clear and corresponds to a long-standing aspiration – to scale back the public pay-as-you-go pension system and replace it, even if only partially, with funded schemes, preferably private ones, in which, however much they dangle the promise of better pensions before us, nothing is certain, everything is uncertain and dependent on the whims and vagaries of the financial markets», it warns.
In this regard, «many workers in other countries have been left without retirement pensions after years and years of making contributions, as a result of the bankruptcy – often fraudulent – of these pension funds», and therefore calls on workers to mobilise «to defeat these plans» and guarantee «the effective right to retirement and pensions» that ensure a dignified life.
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