Increasing the reference value of the Solidarity Supplement for the Elderly (CSI) to 820 euros by 2028 would entail a minimum annual cost of almost 130 million euros, according to reports from experts contacted by DN/Dinheiro Vivo. The proposal was put forward by the leader of the PSD, Luís Montenegro, at the party congress last weekend.
The Social Democrats will wait until later to calculate the additional expenditure estimated by the increase in the CSI, the reference value of which this year is 488.22 euros, and which will be increased to 550.67 euros in the state budget proposal for 2024. in an approximation of the poverty line which, revealed yesterday by the National Statistical Institute, amounts to 591 euros per month. The government also foresees in the budget that approximately 158 thousand elderly people will benefit from this solidarity allowance next year.
If we make the calculations based on the forecast values for 2024, and assuming that the number of beneficiaries remains stable, the additional costs over four years will amount to approximately EUR 512 million, an average of EUR 128 million per year.
However, with the increase in the reference value, the CSI will cover a larger universe of potential beneficiaries, which means that the cost of the PSD promise should be higher. Economist Miguel Teixeira Coelho gives an example: assuming an average benefit of 150 euros, for every 100 thousand new beneficiaries, additional annual expenditure would increase by around 180 million euros. According to social security data, the average value of the benefit in October was 143.30 euros and the number of beneficiaries was 134,347.
The CSI guarantees monthly financial support to people with few resources and who are equal to or older than the normal age for access to the social security old-age pension (66 years and four months), so that their total income does not fall below the CSI reference value decreases. Economist Eugénio Rosa draws attention to the inequality that, according to him, could arise from the increase in the solidarity allowance with regard to pensioners with low pensions, highlighting that 1.2 million people receive pensions of up to 400 euros. “What could happen is that these pensioners who receive the solidarity allowance end up receiving a higher pension than those who received the benefit, which creates inequality.” “The minimum income for pensioners will not apply to everyone,” he adds.
Jorge Bravo, an economist who was previously coordinator of the PSD social security program, says that the issue of inequality “must be secured, whoever proposes this measure must think about it. Not to take this into account would be a shame. invitation for those on the margins to declare less and less”. It all depends on the design of the measure, he argues, recalling that by 2028 “pensions will grow, they will of course approach this level .” [820 euros]”.
The elderly, he believes, are among the most vulnerable adults in Portuguese society, “they live on the essential basket, which is a basket more subject to the inflation situation”. Therefore, he welcomes the measure announced by the leader of the Social Democrats, who Since it is diluted over time and subject to limited resources, he expects it will have “a limited impact on the budget”.
Carla Alves Ribeiro is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
