Portugal

Abstract

This chapter addresses the topic of extended working life from a gendersensitive perspective, through a discussion of employment andworking patterns, care arrangements, health issues, the pension system, employment policies and other relevant public policies in Portugal. Concerning employment patterns, Portugal is similar to the ‘Nordic universal breadwinner model’, as both women and men tend to work on a full-time and continuous basis throughout their lifecourse. From 2002 onwards, the legislated pensionable age has been rising and early retirement was increasingly penalised until themid-2010s.Active labour market policies, such as the transition to more flexible forms of work, the possibility to accumulate pensions and wages, incentives to the hiring of older workers, or promotion of lifelong learning are examples of current policies, although they seem to have been insufficient or largely ineffective so far. In Portugal, as elsewhere in Europe, women live longer than men but have higher rates of morbidity and functional limitations in old age. This implies that it is more difficult for women, on average, to keep working until a later age. Equity in promoting good health is explicitly assumed as an objective of national health programmes.