Portugal's single social benefit requires community work

Portugal merges welfare payments: 268.6 euros and 15 hours of community work

How many benefits can one person collect these days? In Portugal, from now on, the answer is simpler: just one. The country has introduced the Prestação Social Única (PSU, a single social benefit), which merges the various social assistance payments into one and adds a condition: 15 hours a week of community work for those who receive it. According to initial figures, the base amount is 268.6 euros a month.

The measure has an overwhelming administrative logic: the state saves money by avoiding duplication and puts an end to multiple claims across different subsystems. That is the main justification for a change that some see as the first step towards a future universal basic income and others as a simple attempt to make beneficiaries work.

The community work is the most controversial part. Exemptions include people with disabilities, disabled pensioners, students and informal carers. For everyone else, the obligation is real: 15 hours a week, no more and no less. A common comparison equates it to a teacher's full teaching schedule. Some argue it is a pathway into employment; others see it as a punishment for those who do not want to work.

Portugal thus becomes a laboratory for a model that combines social assistance and community work. The question is whether that mix will hold up: beneficiaries do not seem willing to accept the chore with a smile, and the state will have to take a firm hand to make it work. Or not. Time will tell whether the first step ends up being the tip of the iceberg.