Primary Informal Carer Allowance

People recognised as having the Status of Primary Informal Carer.

It is an allowance granted to primary informal caregivers who fulfil the following conditions:

• Are aged between 18 and the legal age for access to the old-age pension
• Fulfil the means-testing condition: the reference household income of the primary informal carer must be lower than EUR 662,04 [1,3 times the Social Support Index (SSI = IAS – Indexante dos Apoios Sociais value].

SSI value / 2024 = EUR 509,26

Means-testing – household income calculation

The household Income is calculated on the basis of the weighting of each household member according to the following equivalence scale:

Example: Household consisting of the applicant, spouse, minor daughter and grandmother (person receiving care).

Determination of the family income

Determination of the weighting factor

In this example, the monthly family income of EUR 2.300 divided by 2,9 gives an income per household member of EUR 793,10.

The primary informal carer would not be entitled to the support allowance as the weighted monthly income per household is higher than EUR 662,04 [1,3 times the Social Support Index (SSI = IAS – Indexante dos Apoios Sociais value].

Accumulation with other benefits

The Primary Informal Caregiver Allowance can be accumulated with:

• Benefits for family expenses
• Maternity, paternity and adoption benefits
• Disability benefits
• Social Integration Income
• Death benefits

The Primary Informal Caregiver Allowance cannot be accumulated with:

• Unemployment benefits
• Total invalidity pension or invalidity pension under the special invalidity protection scheme
• Pensions due to occupational diseases associated with total permanent incapacity for any and all work
• Care benefits
• Old-age pensions, with the exception of early old-age pensions.

The accumulation of the support allowance with an early old-age pension is only allowed if:

• the informal caregiver proves that, on the date of the pension application submission, or up to 12 months after that date, the person receiving care belonged to the same household, and
• the reduction in the pension amount, for the purposes of applying the sustainability factor or the reduction factor, is higher than 20%.

The Conceitos (Concepts) tab shows, in alphabetical order, some of the concepts used in the context of this allowance, namely that of household, the household income categories taken into account for the means-testing assessment, among others.

Entitlement to the primary informal carer support allowance begins in the month in which the application is considered duly complete.

The application is considered to be duly complete as from the date on which:

• The last supporting document to assess the qualifying conditions for the allowance granting is submitted;
• One of the long-term care benefits is granted to the person receiving care (the Second-degree Long-term Care Supplement, the Allowance for Care Provided by a Third Party, or the First-degree Long-term Care Supplement, provided that he/she is temporarily bedridden or in need of permanent care);
• The Disability Assessment Service certifies that the person receiving care, already entitled to the First-degree Long-term Care Supplement, is temporarily bedridden or in need of permanent care.

Suspension

The allowance payment is suspended when:

• The informal carer stops providing permanent care to the other person for more than 30 days;
• The person who needs care is accommodated in a social response or unit of the National Network of Integrated Long-term Care (RNCCI), or admitted to a hospital for a period of more than 30 consecutive days.

Exception: if the person receiving care is a minor and the primary informal caregiver keeps a permanent follow-up, the allowance payment is not suspended.

• One of the conditions required for the allowance granting is no longer met.

Payment resumption

If the situation that lead to the suspension ceases to exist, the allowance payment is resumed in the month following the one in which the social security services are informed about this change of circumstances.

Cessation

The allowance payment ceases whenever the primary informal carer status ceases to be recognised.

See the information available on Recognition of the informal carer status

Amount

The amount of the support allowance is equal to the difference between the sum of the primary informal carer’s income and the reference value of the allowance.

The reference value of the allowance is EUR 509,26 [SSI - The Social Support Index (IAS) amount].

Increase in the allowance

The amount of the allowance is increased by the value corresponding to 50% of the contributions on the remuneration amount of 1 IAS, if the primary informal carer is registered in the voluntary social insurance scheme, and as long as he/she regularly pays the respective social security contributions.

Undue receipt of benefits

The undue receipt of Social Security benefits requires the reimbursement of the respective amount, which can be carried out as follows:

• Through direct payment

In this case, within 30 days from the date on which the debtor receives the notification from the Social Security services, he/she may:

• Pay the debt total amount;
• Request payment in monthly instalments. If this debt payment method is authorized, the instalments cannot exceed 150 months.

Failure to pay one instalment determines the maturity of the remaining instalments.

To request this type of debt payment, the person concerned must submit the application for the payment of amounts due to Social Security, form Mod. MG7-DGSS (Requerimento de Pagamento de Valores à Segurança Social).

• Request that payment be made by offsetting with other benefits that the debtor is receiving.

This offsetting is made up to one third of the value of the instalments due, unless the debtor wishes to deduct a higher amount.

The offsetting with ongoing benefits must guarantee the debtor a monthly amount equal to the value of:

• the Social Support Index (SSI = IAS), or the value of the benefit, if it is lower than the IAS value, when the offsetting is made with benefits that compensate for the loss or reduction of work income.
• the Social Pension, or the value of the benefit, if it is lower than the Social Pension value, when the offsetting is made with other social security benefits.

SSI - IAS value for 2024 = EUR 509,26

Social Pension value for 2024 = EUR 245,79

The following benefits cannot be offset:

• Benefits aimed to ensure minimum subsistence for persons in economic deprivation, unless the offsetting is due to the undue payment of the benefit itself;
• Family benefits whose entitlement results from the death of the beneficiary himself/herself.

The right to reimbursement of the unduly paid benefits expires within a period of 5 years from the date of the reimbursement request.

The application for the reimbursement of unduly paid benefits is available in the Formulários (Forms) menu or at any Social Security customer information service.

The person concerned must submit the application for the Primary Informal Carer Allowance, Form Mod. CI 2-DGSS (Requerimento do Subsídio de Apoio ao Cuidador Informal), together with the documents indicated therein, preferably via the Social Security Online Service (Segurança Social Direta) or at any Social Security customer information service.

The application form is available here or in any Social Security customer information service.

For information on how to access the Social Security Online Service (Segurança Social Direta), see the Practical Guide available here.