Statistic Portugal published on November 29 the provisional value of life expectancy at age 65 for the three-year period 2020-2022. Every year this estimates has an influence on pensions in Portugal.

Life expectancy at age 65 in Portugal is estimated at 19.30 years for the triennium 2020-2022. Different from life expectancy at birth, this means Portuguese at age 65 between 2020 and 2022 could expect to live until 84 years and 110 days on average. It decreased 0.05 year compared to last year’s triennium, accounting for 18 days of expected life less.

The value is calculated annually within a 3-year span, based this year on the deaths registered in 2020, 2021 and a statistical projection for 2022 from January to October data.

Results are yet provisional but this is likely the second consecutive three-year period in which Portuguese seniors’ life expectancy. This is mostly due to the deaths caused by the COVID-19 pandemic during the two periods.

Last year’s data showed the first setback of seniors’ life expectancy in at least 20 years, according to Statistics Portugal. Life expectancy at age 65 had grown three years since 1998-2000.

But last year, life expectancy for 2019-2021 dropped 4 months as it encompassed the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decline was the same for the life expectancy at birth: 80 years and 263 days, down from 81 years and 22 days in 2018-2020. Statistics Portugal explained such identical drop was related to the higher mortality rate due to the coronavirus.

Every year on November, Statistic Portugal publishes the provisional value of life expectancy at age 65 because it affects pension age in Portugal. Normal access age to the old-age pension has been indexed according to the provisional value of life expectancy at 65 every year since 2013, according to Portuguese law. Pension cuts for early retirement have even been determined based on this value since 2008.

As a result, retirement in Portugal will be set at 66 years and four months for a full pension in 2023, based on data from 2018-2020. But for 2024, the newly published decline should be too small to further reduce pension age, which will nevertheless not be raised.

People who will apply for early retirement will see a 13.8 percent cut of the pension on 2023, the smallest cut since 2016 (early pensions were cut 14 percent in 2022, and 15.2 percent in 2022).

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