Error in paying pensions leads to court: How much? Who should take over?

O theme has made a lot of ink run in recent days: a mistake by the General Pensions Box (CGA) led to several pensioners receiving more money than the one to which they were entitled – and now? If, on the one hand, the government claims that pensioners must return the excess amount, the pensioners ask the CGA to take responsibility for the lapse. 

Error in paying pensions leads to court: How much? 

Last week it was reported that the CGA will correct 2,937 pensions awarded between may and august of this year, after having detected an error in the calculation that led to them being fixed above the amount laid down in the law.

On average, pensioners will receive less 93.31 euros gross per month, having the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho, informed, however, that the overpaid amounts will have to be reset.

Government says “there is a legal obligation” to return overpaid amount 

The Labour Minister assured that there are legal grounds for the CGA to request the return of the sums paid extra and insists that the increase in the minimum wage above the target has to be endorsed by the social partners.

Asked by journalists about whether there is legal basis for the request for return, the Labor Minister said that “not only is there legal basis but there is legal obligation to do so“.

“All payments that are wrong, ... have to be returned and the law obliges it to be so“, added Rosário Palma Ramalho, in statements to journalists, on the margins of the 15th UGT Congress, which takes place between today and tomorrow at Figueira da Foz.

Palma Ramalho reiterated that due to this “parametrization error”, on average, the affected pensioners will receive less 93.31 euros gross per month, and there are several modalities of return.

Asked about whether she felt disapproved with the appeal of the Secretary-General of the UGT, who urged the Prime Minister to sit “at the Social Concertation table” to review the agreement on wage valuation and economic growth for 2025-2028, the governor recalled that the Permanent Commission for Social Concertation (CPCS) is usually chaired by him “in delegation of powers of the Prime Minister”, who “several times” has been present at meetings.

“ I myself will enjoy every time you want to go to the Social Concert”, he said.

Pensioners disagree and ask CGA to take responsibility

MURPI – National Confederation of Pensioners, Pensioners and Elderly asked the board of directors the CGA and the Ombudsman’s Office explanations of the error in the pensions of the CGA, advocating accountability of the institution. 

In a letter sent to the chairman of the CGA Board of Directors, António Valente, the MURPI asks for explanations regarding the situation, arguing that “the state must be a “good person”, without “reflecting on pensioners the consequences of their mistakes“.

“However, we assume that this is a misunderstanding, for which the pensioners, in good faith, contributed nothing, and no one will have anything to return,” he said.

According to the confederation, their associates are “very concerned” and say they used the simulator, asked for the pension and were sent the information of the value for acceptance “very close to the one presented by the simulator”, so they accepted the value and started the payment, “accept by both parties”.

“ Later, they received a letter from the CGA to inform again, lower value, explaining that this was due to the fact that they should only take into account 40 years of work”, writes the MURPI, pointing out that, according to the information he received, “the difference goes from EUR 90 to 200”.

Now, the CGA “gives the pensioners 10 days to respond to the request for a prior hearing, bearing in mind that the money the State says has paid too much must be returned”.

In the letter addressed to the Ombudsman, Luísa Neto, the confederation requests the analysis of this “anomalous situation”, considering that the pensioners “made a decision based on information issued by an entity considered to be a good person”.

“The possible error is attributable to the Cashier and as such it should assume its consequences,” MURPI considers.

The Pensions General Box will this month notify pensioners who received pensions above the legal value on the amount to be returned, refusing to have done a “reinterpretation of the law”, but rather a “parametrization error” in the calculation.