Around 190,000 people in Portugal receive the RSI social benefit, of whom just 6,500 are foreign nationals. State Secretary for Social Security Filipa Lima presented these figures on October 26 during parliamentary hearings on the 2027 state budget, in response to questions from the Chega party, Dinheiro Vivo reports.
“Of every 100 RSI recipients, 96 are Portuguese citizens,” Lima said. Around a third of foreign beneficiaries are Ukrainian nationals who arrived in Portugal in 2022.
RSI (Rendimento Social de Inserção) is a social benefit for people with very low or no income. It is not contribution-based, meaning people can receive it even if they have never paid into Segurança Social, Portugal’s social security system. Foreign nationals are eligible if they have lived in Portugal for more than a year.
According to Lima, foreign nationals contribute far more to Segurança Social than they receive in benefits. From January to August 2026, they paid more than €3 billion in social security contributions and received €563 million in benefits. Contributions rose by 13.7%, while benefit payments increased by 2.3%.
From January to June, an average of 914,000 foreign nationals paid social security contributions each month, with an average monthly contribution of around €412. Meanwhile, approximately 205,000 foreign nationals received various benefits each month, averaging €349 per person.
Find out who is eligible for RSI and how to apply on the official gov.pt portal.
