Fidelidade says funicular victim suffered briefly; check a flat yourself before renting; missed contributions cut pensions
Fidelidade told a court an Elevador da Glória victim suffered for under a minute; Redditors consider switching insurer
In September 2025, 16 people died when Lisbon's Elevador da Glória funicular crashed. One of the victims worked for Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (a Lisbon charity), and her widower is claiming about €1 million from the insurer Fidelidade. As Notícias ao Minuto reports, in its defence filed in court the insurer said that the crash and the victim's suffering lasted less than a minute, and that the passenger should have understood this form of transport was unsafe. Fidelidade later apologised for “certain expressions” and said it had already paid out €2.5 million over the crash: it has reached settlements with four of the victims' families and is negotiating with eight.
On Reddit, the second argument caused the most anger, because the funicular itself was insured by Fidelidade. Others countered that every insurer puts a price on a life, and it is for the court to decide whether that calculation stands.
“The best part is that the insurer thinks a passenger on a vehicle insured by Fidelidade itself should have taken into account that it was unsafe. Unbelievable. Fidelidade insured something that wasn't safe, and it was the passenger who was supposed to take that into account.”
r/portugal29.10.2026
“An insurer's job is literally to work out what a life is worth; all insurers do it. Whether to accept their figure or not is for the court to decide.”
r/portugal29.10.2026
Several people wrote that they are now thinking of moving their policies to another company. One person described their own case: the other driver, who was at fault, was insured with Fidelidade; the car spent 81 days in the garage; written requests for a courtesy car went unanswered; and compensation for the days without a car was won only through arbitration.
“I had an accident that wasn't my fault, and the other driver was insured with Fidelidade. I asked several times in writing for a courtesy car and never got an answer. The repair turned into a saga: they dragged it out for 81 days for no reason at all. I constantly had to chase both the garage and Fidelidade myself. In the end they didn't even want to pay the compensation I was entitled to for 81 days without a courtesy car. I had to go to an arbitration court. I won.”
r/portugal29.10.2026
Reddit rejects compulsory inspections of rental flats: view the flat yourself and record its condition in the contract
Someone on Reddit suggested inspecting flats before they are let, the way ASAE (Autoridade de Segurança Alimentar e Económica, the authority that inspects shops and restaurants) inspects businesses: before the contract is signed and regularly afterwards, to protect both tenant and landlord. People recalled that Ireland has such inspections, and that England keeps records of both homes and tenants. One person who had recently been flat-hunting said they had been shown flats that were dangerous to live in going for €1,000 a month.
“I was recently looking for somewhere to live and went to view flats in Póvoa. People are asking €1,000 a month for dumps where an accident is only a matter of time.”
r/portugal28.10.2026
Most were against the idea: it would mean new fees and paperwork, and a cheap inspector would sign off without even looking inside, as already sometimes happens with energy certificates.
“A tenant can already view the flat beforehand and bring whoever they like; you don't need an inspector for that. It's just that only the very rich call in professionals. Make the inspection compulsory and all you get is the cost of a technician from some cheap firm who signs the paper without checking anything, and sometimes without even turning up. Right now the cheapest technicians who issue energy certificates come, have a look, and you're lucky if they notice whether the windows have glass in them.”
r/portugal28.10.2026
Instead, they suggest viewing the flat yourself or with friends and, if in doubt, paying a specialist to inspect it.
When you move in, record the condition of the flat and its appliances and include it in the contract; the landlord does the same before letting. Without such a record, you will have nothing to back you up in a dispute over the deposit when you move out.
“Anyone with a head on their shoulders writes down the main things, or everything they want, when they move into a flat. And the landlord does the same before letting it. When the contract is signed, you can also put the condition of the flat, the appliances and everything important in it.”
r/portugal28.10.2026
One person suggested that the deposit should be held not by the landlord but by a third party, which would also settle any dispute when the tenant moves out.
“I wouldn't start with inspections (though I'm in favour). I'd start by having the deposit held by a third party that would settle any dispute. Not by the landlord or their representative.”
r/portugal28.10.2026
Pensions are paid from today's workers' contributions, and years without them shrink yours: Reddit on retiring early
ASF (Autoridade de Supervisão de Seguros e Fundos de Pensões, the regulator of insurers and pension funds) surveyed 801 people and, as ECO reports, only 48.5% know that today's pensions are paid from the contributions of people working now. Another 27.8% think everyone gets back what they built up over their career, and 17.7% that pensions are paid out of taxes. Only 28% save separately for old age, and 61% of pensioners say they have been worse off since retiring.
On Reddit, people were surprised that even young graduates don't know this, and pointed out that there are fewer and fewer workers and more and more pensioners.
“That's exactly what keeps the Ponzi scheme we call Segurança Social going. People think their contributions are put away in a little box and handed back when they retire. Today's workers support yesterday's, and we're told tomorrow's will support today's. The awkward detail is that there are fewer and fewer workers and the country is ageing fast.”
r/portugal29.10.2026
In another thread, a 57-year-old emigrant planning to return to Portugal wrote that they had reached financial independence: three paid-off houses, one of them let for €400 a month, and €140,000 in the bank, with 11–12 years still to go until pension age. Replies said this was not enough: €400 in rent won't even cover the groceries, and the €140,000 is more of a bridge to the pension. The advice: first work out actual spending, allowing for inflation, repairs to the houses and the unexpected; find out what the pension will be; keep several years' worth of living costs in deposits and Certificados de Aforro (government savings certificates); and put into funds only money that won't be needed in the next few years.
“Sorry, but all you've reached is an age. At almost 60, €140,000 is nothing special. Statistically you'll live to 84, so plan for 30 years of life. €400 in rent won't even cover the supermarket, let alone a care home or carers.”
r/literaciafinanceira29.10.2026
“I'd see that €140,000 above all as a bridge for the 11–12 years until your pension. The first thing I'd do is work out your real yearly spending minus the €400 rent, with inflation, repairs to the houses and the unexpected. And I'd find out what your pension will be.”
r/literaciafinanceira29.10.2026
Your pension is calculated from your years of contributions and your earnings: if you stop working 12 years before pension age and pay no more contributions, your pension will be noticeably smaller.
“Have you looked at the formula they use to calculate the pension? If it's a Portuguese pension, not paying contributions for the next 12 years will hit you hard.”
r/literaciafinanceira29.10.2026
Bringing a dog or cat from outside the EU? Notify airport vet control 48 hours ahead; no reply? Fly and show the email
In a pets chat, someone said they had emailed the veterinary certificate to the DGAV (Direção-Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária, the veterinary authority) vet control point in Porto but had had no reply, and asked whether they could fly. The advice: better to wait for a reply, but if none comes, fly anyway and be ready to show your email at vet control at the airport.
“Ideally, wait for a reply. If you don't get one, fly. But at vet control be ready to show the email: ‘look, I wrote to you and you ignored it’.”
portugal_pets30.10.2026
Under DGAV rules, anyone bringing a dog or cat from a country outside the EU, including the UK, has to fill in an arrival notice and send it to the vet control point at the arrival airport at least 48 hours in advance.
The vet control point at Porto airport is closed from 23:00 to 07:00, and Lisbon's from 00:00 to 06:00. Animals from outside the EU are checked only during opening hours, so bear this in mind when choosing a flight.
Children need a pushchair until about two, then a trike with a handle often takes over, with a light buggy for trips
In a chat for mums of toddlers, someone asked how long children actually ride in a pushchair: they were about to buy a second one but had read that two-year-olds no longer want to sit in one.
The chat agreed that a pushchair is really needed until about one and a half or two; after that, many parents move the child onto a tricycle with a parent handle that later converts into an ordinary bike. The downsides: it is harder to fit in the boot than a folding pushchair, and harder to manage in the rain.
“At around 2 we got a trike with a handle that later turns into a normal bike, and never took the pushchair out again. But there are lots of things to consider: what to do when it rains, how ready the child is to walk, and what kind of walks they are (will they manage the way back without a pushchair). I'd say a child needs a pushchair until 1.5–2, and after that it's the mum who needs it.”
pequenos_PT30.10.2026
“We've got the pushchair and the trike with a handle in the boot, and nothing else fits. And with the trike we have to unscrew the handle and take the wheels off, even though it folds up quite compactly. If that's not a problem, I'd really recommend the trike.”
pequenos_PT30.10.2026
Many still buy a light buggy for holidays, long walks and times when the child is tired. One family used one now and then for their elder daughter until she was 4.5; another bought a Joolz buggy before a holiday when their child was one and a half, and has no regrets.
“We used our little buggy with our elder daughter now and then until she was 4.5. On long walks, on trips, and when she was ill: we'd go out for some fresh air and she could sleep in it.”
pequenos_PT30.10.2026
“In the end we did buy a Joolz at a year and a half, because we were going on holiday. We walked a lot on holiday, and the child worked out that a buggy isn't such a bad thing after all. And now, when she's tired and her parents are tired too and don't want to carry her, she can climb in by herself.”
pequenos_PT30.10.2026
