According to data released by Eurostat, this is one of the smallest shares observed in the European Union, as, for example, in Poland, more than 55% of people in this age group receive benefits of this type.
“In 2023, 45.1% of people aged 50 to 74 received pensions in the European Union. In this group, 39.7% received old-age pensions, 4.6% received disability pensions or another type of incapacity benefit, 0.8% received both types of pensions,” the statistics office reports.

Between the ages of 50 and 59, according to Eurostat details, disability pensions were predominant. But at older ages, “old-age pensions quickly took the lead.” Thus, among Europeans aged 70 to 74, the majority received old-age pensions (97.2% of men and 89.5% of women).
There are, however, considerable differences between the countries of the community bloc. While in Poland, more than 55% of people aged 50 to 74 receive pensions (old age or disability), in Spain, this percentage barely exceeds the 30% mark.
In Portugal, it is below 40%, and is therefore lower than the EU average.
A bit of a meaningless statement as most countries don't issue a state pension until at least 60. Pola dvreceive the most money per capita from EU funds. That's how they fund early pensions!
By David Clark from Algarve on 25 May 2025, 15:03