Funeral benefit and death grant in Portugal: who qualifies and how much
When someone dies, Portuguese Social Security pays one-off support, but the right benefit depends on the situation: the €1,611.39 death grant if the deceased paid contributions, the funeral-expense reimbursement up to that value, or the €268.57 funeral benefit if there was no social protection. Here is who qualifies for each, how they are shared and the deadlines to claim.
TL;DR
Portuguese Social Security pays three separate one-off benefits when someone dies. If the deceased paid into Social Security, the family receives the death grant: €1,611.39 in 2026 (3 × IAS), half to the spouse and half to the descendants when both groups exist, with no minimum contribution record and a 180-day deadline. If whoever paid the funeral is not entitled to that grant, they can claim reimbursement of the expenses up to €1,611.39, within 90 days. If the deceased was not covered by any scheme, whoever paid the funeral receives the funeral benefit: €268.57 (50% of the IAS), reinforced to €1,611.39 for funerals of minors, stillborn children and people with absolute permanent incapacity, for deaths from 9 April 2026.
Three different benefits when someone dies
A death in the family brings immediate expenses, and Portuguese Social Security pays one-off support to offset them. What many people do not know is that there are three separate benefits, and which one applies hangs on a simple question: did the deceased pay into Social Security?
- They paid in (employee, self-employed or pensioner) → the family receives the death grant (subsídio por morte); whoever paid the funeral without being entitled family can claim the funeral-expense reimbursement.
- They were not covered by any social-protection scheme → whoever paid the funeral receives the funeral benefit (subsídio de funeral).
None of these is the survivor's pension, which is a monthly benefit with its own rules. Estimate your case in the death grant and funeral benefit calculator.
The funeral benefit: €268.57 when there was no Social Security
The funeral benefit is paid to whoever proves paying the funeral of a person who was not covered by any mandatory social-protection scheme with a death grant3. The claimant must live in Portugal (or be treated as a resident), and the 2026 value is €268.57, which is 50% of the IAS, set by Portaria 60/2026/1 with effect from 1 January.
The claim deadline is 6 months, counted from the first day of the month after the death. For decades the typical case was the funeral of someone who never had a contributory career, including children, and that is exactly where the law changed in 2026.
The 2026 reinforcement: €1,611.39 for minors and stillborn children
Decree-Law 104/2026, of 25 May, reinforced the funeral benefit in the hardest situations: when the funeral is of a minor, a stillborn child or a recipient of absolute permanent-incapacity benefits without work income, the value rises from €268.57 to €1,611.39, the same as the death grant of someone with a contributory career4. The rule applies to deaths occurring from 9 April 2026, the date the Government approved the decree.
The death grant: €1,611.39 for the family of someone who paid in
If the deceased was covered by the general regime of Social Security, the family is entitled to the death grant: a one-off amount of three times the IAS, that is, 3 × €537.13 = €1,611.39 in 20262. Two important points1:
- No qualifying period: unlike the survivor's pension (36 months of contributions), the death grant requires no minimum contribution record.
- There is a claim deadline: 180 days from the date of death. After that, the right lapses.
Entitled, in this order, are: the spouse (with at least 1 year of marriage if there are no children, unless the death came from an accident or an illness that appeared after the wedding) or the partner of more than 2 years, and ex-spouses receiving alimony; the descendants, even unborn, up to age 18, up to 25 if studying, up to 27 in a master's or postgraduate course, and with no age limit with a disability while on family benefits (stepchildren count up to 18 if the deceased owed them alimony); the dependent ascendants, only when there is no spouse and no descendants; and, failing everyone, other dependent relatives (siblings, uncles and aunts, nephews and nieces, among others).
How the death grant is shared
The split works by groups, and then in equal shares within each group1:
| Who survives | Split of the €1,611.39 |
|---|---|
| Spouse and descendants | Half to the spouse group (€805.70), half to the descendants (€805.69) |
| Spouse group only (spouse/partner/ex-spouses) | Everything to the spouse group, in equal shares |
| Descendants only | Everything to the descendants, in equal shares |
| Neither spouse nor descendants | Everything to the dependent ascendants, in equal shares |
With a spouse and two children, for example, the spouse receives €805.70 and each child about €402.85. Funeral expenses reimbursed to non-entitled payers and pension amounts unduly received after the death may be deducted. Run your own numbers in the death grant and funeral benefit calculator.
The expense reimbursement: paying a funeral without being entitled
It is common for a nephew, a neighbour or a friend to advance the cost of the funeral of a Social Security beneficiary. Whoever paid the funeral and is not entitled to the death grant can claim reimbursement of the documented expenses, up to the death-grant value itself: €1,611.39 in 20265. The deadline is the shortest of the three benefits: 90 days from the death. The reimbursed amount is then deducted from the grant paid to the family.
Deadlines and values side by side
| Benefit | 2026 value | Who receives it | Claim deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Death grant | €1,611.39 (3 × IAS) | The deceased beneficiary's family | 180 days |
| Expense reimbursement | Up to €1,611.39 | Whoever paid the funeral without being entitled | 90 days |
| Funeral benefit | €268.57 (50% of the IAS) | Whoever paid the funeral of an uncovered person | 6 months |
| Reinforced funeral benefit | €1,611.39 | Funerals of minors, stillborn children, absolute incapacity | 6 months |
In the rural regime (RESSAA), the death grant has a 1.5 × IAS minimum (€805.70). In the public sector (CGA), the grant is 3 times the monthly gross pension, capped at 3 × IAS. None of these amounts pays income tax or contributions.
What about the survivor's pension?
The death grant stacks with the survivor's pension: one is the immediate, one-off support; the other is the monthly income that replaces part of the deceased's pension or salary (60% for the spouse, for example). The pension has its own rules: it requires a 36-month qualifying period of contributions and per-recipient percentages. In low-income households it is also worth checking the Social Integration Income and, for people over 66, the Solidarity Supplement for the Elderly.
An example from start to finish
A worker with contributions up to date dies, leaving a spouse and a 10-year-old child. The family claims the death grant within the 180 days: it receives €1,611.39, half to the spouse (€805.70) and half to the child (€805.69), free of tax and contributions. If instead a neighbour had paid €2,500 for the funeral and the family claimed nothing, the neighbour would have 90 days to claim the reimbursement, capped at €1,611.39. And if the deceased were a minor with no Social Security coverage, the parents would qualify for the reinforced €1,611.39 funeral benefit, to be claimed within 6 months.
Estimate your case, with the family split, in the death grant and funeral benefit calculator.
Common mistakes
Confusing the death grant with the survivor's pension
They are different, cumulative benefits: the death grant is a one-off €1,611.39 paid soon after the death with no qualifying period; the survivor's pension is monthly, requires 36 months of contributions by the deceased and lasts while the conditions hold.
Claiming the funeral benefit when the deceased was a beneficiary
The funeral benefit only exists when the deceased was not covered by any social-protection scheme with a death grant. If they paid into Social Security, what applies is the death grant (to the family) or the expense reimbursement (to whoever paid the funeral).
Missing the deadline, which differs for each benefit
The death grant must be claimed within 180 days of the death; the funeral-expense reimbursement within just 90 days; the funeral benefit within 6 months counted from the first day of the following month. After the deadline, the right lapses.
Assuming the widow or widower always receives everything
When there are also entitled descendants, the spouse receives only half: the other half splits equally among the children. And a widowed spouse without children needs 1 year of marriage (unless the death came from an accident or later illness) to qualify.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the funeral benefit in Portugal in 2026?
Who is entitled to the death grant?
How is the death grant split between spouse and children?
Does the death grant require minimum contributions?
I paid a funeral and I am not family. Can I be reimbursed?
Related reading & calculators
Sources
- 1.Decreto-Lei n.º 322/90, de 18 de outubro (protection on the death of general-regime beneficiaries) — Diário da República · retrieved 11 Jul 2026
- 2.Requerer o subsídio por morte (2026 value and deadline) — gov.pt · retrieved 11 Jul 2026
- 3.Portaria n.º 60/2026/1, de 5 de fevereiro, art. 2.º n.º 3 (funeral benefit 2026: €268.57) — Diário da República · retrieved 11 Jul 2026
- 4.Decreto-Lei n.º 104/2026, de 25 de maio (reinforced funeral benefit for minors, stillborn children and absolute permanent incapacity) — Diário da República · retrieved 11 Jul 2026
- 5.Pedir o reembolso das despesas de funeral à Segurança Social (ceiling and 90-day deadline) — gov.pt · retrieved 11 Jul 2026
Author / Reviewed by
Author
Thorben Rasmus Idel
Co-founder & writer
Co-founder of Calculadora Capital and the writer behind the methodology on every calculator and article. An entrepreneur and active investor, Thorben founded Idel Versandhandel GmbH, an international trading company operating across 16 countries, and invests across stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrency. He writes the methodology and verifies the math behind each page, drawing on hands-on business and investing experience to keep the tools and explanations grounded in how money, markets and taxes actually work for everyday people in Portugal.
Reviewed by
Nahar Geva
Co-founder & reviewer
Co-founder of Calculadora Capital and the independent reviewer behind every calculator and article. An entrepreneur and active investor, Nahar brings a data- and product-driven mindset together with hands-on experience in the markets — investing across stocks and ETFs as well as cryptocurrency and other digital assets, alongside broader personal finance and real estate. On each page Nahar reviews the methodology and double-checks the math and figures, pressure-testing how the tools and explanations hold up against the way money, markets and taxes actually work for everyday investors.
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