Portugal's single social benefit just cleared its second-to-last hurdle — the President signed off
President Seguro has promulgated the legislative authorisation for the PSU, the reform merging 13 social benefits including the RSI into one payment. A decree-law is all that's missing.
Portugal’s Single Social Benefit cleared its second-to-last hurdle on Friday. President António José Seguro promulgated the legislative authorisation parliament granted the Government to create the PSU, announcing it in a short note on the Presidency’s website with no comment on the diploma’s content. With the President’s signature, the ball is back with the Council of Ministers.
What is the PSU, exactly?
It’s the reform that merges 13 non-contributory social benefits — including the RSI minimum-income scheme — into a single payment with simpler rules and less bureaucracy for families who rely on state support. Parliament approved it with the votes of PSD and CDS-PP, while PS and IL abstained; we broke down how the new benefit is meant to work when the design first passed.
When does the single social benefit start?
There’s no firm date yet, but the clock is ticking: the measure is written into Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan, and the Government has pointed to a possible start as early as August 2026. The decisive step is still missing — the decree-law creating the benefit, setting amounts and access conditions, which the executive can now approve in cabinet. That text will reveal who gains, who loses and how much actually changes at the end of each month. The official promulgation note is on the Presidency’s website.
Until then the promise stands: one application, one payment, less paperwork. The real test comes when the numbers leave the drawing board.
Image: Agencia LUSA / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
