Council of Ministers authorizes 8.5 million for Social Security postal vouchers

The Council of Ministers has authorized the board of directors of the Institute for Financial Management of Social Security, I. P. (IGFSS, I. P.) to incur expenditure and assume multi-annual obligations relating to the acquisition of postal voucher issuance and payment services, up to a maximum global amount of €8,499,207.56, exempt from value added tax (VAT). The authorization, valid for a period of 28 months and distributed across the economic years 2026 to 2029, is set out in the Council of Ministers Resolution no. 222/2026, published in the Diário da República, 1st series, no. 219, of November 11, 2026. The resolution was approved on October 29, 2026, is signed by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, and takes effect from the date of its approval.

The IGFSS, I. P. is a public institute under a special regime which, under paragraph 1 of article 3 of Decree-Law no. 84/2012, of March 30, has the mission of unified financial management of the economic resources allocated in the social security budget, being responsible for performing the functions of the system’s single treasury, under point b) of paragraph 4 of article 3-A of the same diploma.

The diploma justifies the expenditure by the need to ensure payment via postal voucher to beneficiaries who do not have an IBAN registered in the social security information system, as well as to guarantee the continuity of a service of a current and continuous nature through a new service acquisition contract.

A means of payment for those without an IBAN

According to the preamble of the resolution, the postal voucher is used for the payment of the following benefits:

• family benefits;
• deferred benefits;
• social benefits, namely pensions, social insertion income, benefits within the scope of occupational diseases, and social benefit for inclusion.

This modality therefore covers beneficiaries without a bank account registered in the social security systems, who depend on this means of payment to receive regular support from the system.

Multi-annual envelope and annual limits

The resolution sets annual ceilings for the obligations, exempt from VAT, which cannot be exceeded in each economic year:

• 2026 — €934,443.51;
• 2027 — €3,645,261.62;
• 2028 — €3,618,133.14;
• 2029 — €301,369.29.

The financial obligations will be met by appropriate funds entered in the year 2026 and to be entered, in the years 2027 to 2029, under funding source 513 — Own revenues of the year from other origins, of the budget of the IGFSS, I. P. The resolution further delegates, with the power of sub-delegation, to the member of the Government responsible for the area of labor, solidarity, and social security the competence to perform all subsequent acts.

Amendment to the previous resolution

The decree also amends Council of Ministers Resolution No. 97/2024, of July 26, which had authorized the contracting of services for the issuance of postal vouchers up to €6,261,375.40, exempt from VAT. With the new wording, the maximum global amount remains the same, but the costs are now split over two years: €3,145,043.35 in 2025 and €3,116,332.05 in 2026.

The invoked legal framework includes subparagraph e) of paragraph 1 of article 17 and paragraphs 1 and 2 of article 22 of Decree-Law No. 197/99, of June 8, articles 44, 46, and 47 of the Code of Administrative Procedure, subparagraph a) of paragraph 1 of article 6 of Law No. 8/2012, of February 21, paragraph 1 of article 11 of Decree-Law No. 127/2012, of June 21, and subparagraph g) of article 199 of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic.

Impact for beneficiaries and competitors

The authorization unlocks a contract of nearly 8.5 million euros, with a horizon of more than two years, which directly interests the thousands of social security beneficiaries without a registered IBAN who rely on postal vouchers to receive pensions, family allowances, or social supports. For postal operators and payment service providers, the resolution defines the financial and temporal framework to which the IGFSS, I. P. will be bound in the launch of the new procurement procedure.

Source: Diário da República, 1st series, no. 219, of November 11, 2026, Presidency of the Council of Ministers (official reference: Council of Ministers Resolution No. 222/2026).