The government today promised to increase the Solidarity Supplement for the Elderly (CSI) to a reference value of 820 euros by 2028, one of the solutions proposed to combat poverty in Portugal.
“In order to combat poverty, it is necessary to gradually increase the reference value of the Solidarity Supplement for the Elderly (CSI) to a value of 820 euros in 2028, with the aim of matching the value of the national minimum wage in the following legislature, and to improve access to social benefits so that those who really need them can benefit from them,” can be read in the program of the XXIV Constitutional Government, approved today and delivered to the Assembly of the Republic.
“In Portugal, 42% of the Portuguese are at risk of poverty before receiving social transfers and, after these supports, there are 2.1 million Portuguese at risk of poverty or social exclusion,” recalls the executive (PSD/CDS), pointing out that, in 2022, “around 1.5 million pensions were worth less than the minimum wage, with a minimum monthly pension of around 292 euros”.
The current CSI scheme “does little to lift these pensioners out of poverty”, awarding “an average income boost of just 144 euros, guaranteeing a value of around 489 euros to 135,000 pensioners”, says the program.
For the executive, “it doesn’t seem possible, without more income or assets, to avoid poverty with this weak support, so it is essential to reinforce the CSI, on a path that ensures that pensioners in the most vulnerable situations receive effective support from Social Security to live with dignity”.
“Portugal is one of the countries in the European Union with the highest rate of ageing as a result of the low birth rate”, which constitutes “an economic and environmental risk and a risk to the sustainability of the social system, which depends on an active and dynamic population”.
In this sense, “in addition to policies to promote the birth rate and support families, it is important not to forget that vulnerable elderly people and people with degenerative diseases face a high risk of poverty, social exclusion and discrimination, resulting in isolation and limited participation in the community,” the program reads.
The government also wants to “guarantee new models and social responses, which support the elderly to remain in their homes, in communities, for as long as possible, or in autonomous and independent residences, with levels of assistance depending on their needs, delaying or avoiding institutionalization”.
In its proposals, the executive wants to improve “quality, diversified, personalized and interdisciplinary home support services, with the provision of medical and nursing care, psychology, physiotherapy, cognitive, sensory and motor stimulation, as well as support for daily activities, such as accompaniment to the supermarket, pharmacy and transport”.
Another proposal is to “expand the territorial coverage of telecare services, aimed at the elderly, for emergency services and support in domestic services and small repairs, with a line to combat loneliness, reinforcing the perception of safety and comfort at home”.
In relation to institutions that deal with the elderly, the executive wants to “extend the number of subsidized places”, “extend this subsidy to the private sector when the public or social network does not respond” and “create models aimed at the financial sustainability of institutions in the social and solidarity sector”, among other proposals.
