Segurança Social, Portugal’s social security system, has launched the automatic award of Abono de Família Pré-Natal, a monthly benefit for pregnant women. Submitting a separate application is no longer mandatory, but the process still requires some involvement from the expectant mother.

How it works. From the 13th week of pregnancy, a doctor — either public or private — issues an electronic pregnancy certificate. The woman logs into the SNS 24 portal or app and authorizes the document to be sent to Segurança Social. If the eligibility requirements are met, the system automatically generates an offer to award the benefit and sends it to the Caixa de Mensagens section of the Segurança Social portal. The final step is to accept the offer within the specified deadline. If the message is missed, no payments will be made.

The automatic process works only with an electronic certificate. If the doctor issues a paper certificate, the old procedure remains in place: the application must be submitted through Segurança Social Direta. Public-sector employees covered by the regime convergente are not included in this system: their employer arranges the benefit through Caixa Geral de Aposentações.

How much is paid. In 2026, the amounts increased by 2.2%, with the increase backdated to January:
— 1st income bracket — €190.98
— 2nd — €161.65
— 3rd — €132.07
— 4th — €88.43
— 5th — no payment

How the bracket is determined. It is not based on salary, but on “reference income” (rendimento de referência): the total annual income of all family members is divided by the number of children entitled to the benefit plus the number of expected children, plus one. For a first pregnancy with no other children, the divisor is two. For applications submitted in 2026, income from 2025 is used.
The thresholds are as follows: up to €3,657.50 — 1st bracket; €3,657.50–€7,315 — 2nd; €7,315–€12,435.50 — 3rd; €12,435.50–€18,287.50 — 4th. Above that is the 5th bracket, which is not eligible for the benefit.

Additional payments. If the pregnant woman lives alone or only with children who are entitled to abono de família, the amount increases by 35% (https://www.gov.pt/servicos/requerer-a-majoracao-do-abono-para-familias-monoparentais): to €257.82, €218.23, €178.29 or €119.38, respectively. The increase is not always granted automatically — if Segurança Social does not have information about the family composition, it must be requested separately. In the case of twins or triplets, the basic amount is multiplied by the number of children.

Other requirements. You must live in Portugal or have an equivalent status — citizenship is not required, as long as you have a valid residence permit or EU citizen status. A family’s movable assets (bank deposits, shares, bonds and savings certificates) must not exceed €128,911.20 — equivalent to 240 times the IAS, which stands at €537.13 in 2026.

Payments start from the month following the 13th week of pregnancy and are usually made between the 14th and 16th of the month. If the pregnancy ends, this must be reported to Segurança Social within 10 working days.

The automatic process works only if the SNS number (healthcare number) and NISS (Segurança Social number) are linked to the same person. For people who have recently moved to Portugal, these records can sometimes be mismatched, in which case the offer simply does not arrive. The remaining option is to submit an application manually through Segurança Social Direta.