What is the dependency supplement (complemento por dependência)?

What is the dependency supplement?

The dependency supplement (complemento por dependência) is a monthly cash benefit, set out in Decree-Law 265/99, paid to pensioners in a situation of dependency: people who cannot, on their own, take care of personal hygiene, feed themselves or move around, and who therefore need another person's assistance¹. The supplement adds to the pension and is paid together with it.

Two important points up front: it is not automatic (it must be requested from Social Security) and it does not depend on income, unlike benefits such as the solidarity supplement for the elderly. The one exception is the €600 limit that gates the 1st degree, explained below.

You can check the amount for your case in the dependency supplement calculator.

Who qualifies?

When the dependency situation is certified, the supplement is available to people receiving one of these pensions³:

• General regime: invalidity, old-age or survivor pension;
• Special agricultural regime: the same three pensions;
• Non-contributory or equivalent regime: social invalidity or old-age pension, orphan pension, widowhood pension and the transitional rural regime.

The supplement can also be granted to non-pensioners, in situations of impaired mobility caused by the illnesses of Law 90/2009: familial amyloidosis, Machado-Joseph disease, HIV, multiple sclerosis, cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease³.

The two degrees of dependency

The law distinguishes two degrees, and the amount depends on them¹:

• 1st degree: the person has no autonomy for the basic needs of daily life. They cannot manage personal hygiene, feed themselves or move around alone.
• 2nd degree: on top of the 1st-degree dependency, the person is bedridden or has severe dementia.

The degree is not self-declared, nor declared by the family doctor: it is certified by Social Security's Incapacity Verification System (SVI), based on the medical information filed with the request. If the situation worsens, a review exam can be requested to move to the 2nd degree.

How much is it in 2026?

The amounts are percentages of the social pension, worth €262.40 in 2026, and are set by Portaria 480-B/2025/1²:

Beware of the wrong figures circulating online: several sites publish €131.19 or €236.14 for 2026. The official portaria amounts are the ones in the table above, which derive exactly from the percentages of the €262.40 social pension².

The €600 rule on the 1st degree

The 1st-degree supplement is only granted while the pensioner does not receive more than €600 of pensions per month³. For this count, pensions of the same nature are added together:

• own-right pensions (invalidity, old age, retirement) sum with each other;
• derived-right pensions (survivor, widowhood, orphan) sum with each other.

If the sum exceeds €600, the 1st degree is not granted and, if already being paid, it ends. The 2nd degree has no pension limit at all: it is paid whatever the pension.

Paid double in July and in December

The supplement is paid every month, together with the pension, and double in July and in December³. In practice, that is 14 payments a year:

• 1st degree, general regime: €131.20 × 14 = €1,836.80 a year;
• 2nd degree, general regime: €236.16 × 14 = €3,306.24 a year.

It is paid to the pensioner or to the person or institution the pension is being paid to.

What can it be combined with?

• It is compatible with the qualifying pensions (invalidity, old age, survivor, social pension, orphan, widowhood, agricultural and transitional rural regimes)³.
• The 1st-degree supplement can be combined with the solidarity supplement for the elderly.
• It cannot be combined with work income or training courses: carrying out any professional activity, paid or not, ends the entitlement³.
• It cannot be combined with another benefit serving the same purpose.
• In care homes with state-funded support, the pensioner can only receive the 1st-degree supplement, not the 2nd (in a home without state support, the 2nd degree stands).

How to apply

The request is filed with Social Security, with no deadline, with⁴:

1. the form of the respective regime: CNP-05 (contributory regime) or RP5027 (non-contributory regime);
2. the medical information for the incapacity assessment (form SVI 7-DGSS, available at Social Security desks and health centres);
3. the identification documents of the pensioner and of the person providing the assistance.

Entitlement starts in the month after filing and the answer takes, on average, 150 days. Once granted, you must tell Social Security if the person starts working, stops receiving the assistance stated in the request or is no longer in a dependency situation.

Dependency supplement or CSI?

They are different benefits that many families confuse. The solidarity supplement for the elderly tops up low incomes of those past retirement age, with a means test. The dependency supplement pays for the need of another person's help, whatever the income (with the single exception of the €600 limit on the 1st degree). Precisely for that reason, the 1st degree can be combined with the CSI: an elderly person on a low pension with certified dependency can receive both.