Payment to foster families rises to 356.24 euros per month in 2026

Order No. 11880/2026 sets the remuneration for each elderly person or adult with a disability hosted by a foster family at 356.24 euros per month for the year 2026, a value that is doubled in situations of high dependency. The maintenance contribution increases to 351.93 euros per month. The order was published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 189, of September 29, 2026, and also updates the 2025 values.

Family fostering was created by Decree-Law No. 391/91, of October 10, and consists of integrating, temporarily or permanently, elderly people or people with disabilities, from adulthood onwards, into families considered suitable, guaranteeing them a socio-familial and affective environment conducive to the satisfaction of basic needs and respect for identity, personality, and privacy. Article 9 of said diploma grants the foster family the right to remuneration for services provided to the hosted person and a contribution for hosting services.

The diploma is signed by the Secretary of State for Social Security, Susana Filipa de Moura Lima, on September 18, 2026, and by the Secretary of State for Social Action and Inclusion, Maria Clara Gonçalves Marques Mendes, on September 21, 2026, under the powers delegated by Order No. 2577/2025, of February 25, and Article 30 of the Social Security Framework Law, approved by Law No. 4/2007, of January 16.

Values set for 2025 and 2026

The order updates the remunerations and contributions for both years, with retroactive effects to January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026:

• 2025 — monthly remuneration of €340.25 for each elderly person or adult with a disability hosted;
• 2025 — €680.50 in the case of hosting a person in a proven situation of high dependency;
• 2025 — maintenance contribution of €336.13;
• 2026 — monthly remuneration of €356.24 for each elderly person or adult with a disability hosted;
• 2026 — €712.48 in the case of hosting a person in a proven situation of high dependency;
• 2026 — maintenance contribution of €351.93.

The increase compared to 2025 is 15.99 euros in the base remuneration and 15.80 euros in the maintenance contribution, which corresponds to approximately 4.7% in both cases.

Excluded expenses and contribution limit

The maintenance contribution does not include expenses for medications, clothing, footwear, and personal hygiene products, which are the responsibility of the hosted person or their respective family and, in the absence of their financial resources, the overseeing institution.

The financial contribution of the hosted person corresponds, at most, to 70% of their respective net monthly income and cannot exceed, in each year, the sum of the value of the remuneration for services rendered and the value of the maintenance contribution applicable to them. In the calculation of the net monthly income, amounts corresponding to holiday and Christmas allowances or corresponding pensions are not considered, and the contribution constitutes own revenue of the hosting institution.

Support from the Social Security Institute and revocation

When the hosted person and their respective family do not have sufficient financial resources, the territorially competent district center of the Social Security Institute, I. P. may, following a technical evaluation of the situation, contribute to these costs. The same applies to expenses resulting from the prescription of assistive products for the hosted person, and the district center must consider specific supports that are the responsibility of other public services or bodies.

The order revokes Order No. 15034/2024, of December 20, without prejudice to the effects produced by it until December 31, 2024, and enters into force on the day following its publication, with numbers 1 to 3 taking effect from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025, and numbers 4 to 6 taking effect from January 1, 2026.

The update has a direct impact on the budget of foster families and hosting institutions, which will now receive higher values for the care provided to elderly people and adults with disabilities, and reinforces the role of this social response in preventing institutionalization and promoting community participation.

Source: Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 189, of September 29, 2026, Labor, Solidarity and Social Security (official reference: Order No. 11880/2026).