There are 29,349 Azoreans receiving child benefit allowance. The average benefit in the Azores is 102.75 euros.
The number of beneficiaries in the region has been falling, with 1,410 more in 2023 than at the end of 2024, receiving an average of 76.02 euros. Ten years ago, the number of family allowance recipients in the Azores was 36,121.

New brackets this year

With the IAS rising this year to 522.50 euros, the income brackets that define the value of the family allowance in 2025 will change. In practice, each bracket’s minimum and maximum reference income increases this year, covering more families in the first brackets.
As for the family allowance amounts in 2025, there are no changes compared to the previous year.
However, you should identify whether you are entitled to the increases provided for those with two or more children, are part of a single-parent family, or receive the prenatal allowance.
The family allowance is a monthly cash payment intended to compensate for family expenses related to supporting and educating children and young people.
According to Social Security, the family allowance for children or young people is calculated according to the child or young person’s age, the composition of the household, and the household’s reference income, grouped into brackets indexed to the value of the IAS.
The income for the year 2023 is used to calculate the family allowance bracket that will be paid between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025, to children or young people who are already receiving the allowance based on the value of the IAS that was in force at the time (in 2023, it was 480.43 euros).
The 2024 income is used to calculate the bracket for family allowances that are claimed for the first time throughout 2025, based on the value of the IAS in force in 2024 (last year, the IAS was 509.26 euros).
In turn, for family allowance applications made next year, in 2026, the income obtained by the household in 2025 and this year’s IAS (522.50 euros) will count. Those in the fifth income bracket are not entitled to child benefits.
It is also important to remember that this bracket is determined annually, with a reference date of October 31, the day by which proof of income must be provided.
As the situation is reassessed every year, if income or the composition of the household changes, the amount to be received may also change.

In Diário dos Açores-Osvaldo Cabral, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.