Government spending towards Contributory Benefits amounted to €1,254.1 million, a 9.3 per cent increase from the previous year. Pensions in respect of Retirement recorded the largest increase of €77.7 million, mainly resulting from a €73.7 million rise in Two-Thirds Pension outlay. Further increases were registered under Pensions in respect of Widowhood (€16.5 million), Contributory Bonus (€7.6 million), Deficiency Contributory Bonus (€3.0 million), Other Benefits (€1.0 million) and Pensions in respect of Invalidity (€0.6 million) (Table 2).

By the close of 2025, Non-Contributory spending reached €362.5 million, an 11.1 per cent increase in comparison to the previous year. The largest rise was registered under Child Allowance (€16.0 million), ahead of the Additional Cost of Living Adjustment (€9.2 million) and Disability Pensions/Allowance (€6.2 million). In contrast, a drop was recorded under Total Social Assistance (€0.7 million) (Table 3).

Social Security Beneficiaries

Between January and December 2025, the number of Two-Thirds pensioners totalled 63,872, 1,924 additional beneficiaries compared to 2024. This growth represented the largest increase reported among Contributory Benefits. Conversely, the biggest drop was registered under Sickness Benefit (1,819) (Table 2).

The highest number of Non-Contributory beneficiaries was reported under the Additional Cost of Living Adjustment (107,774), 1,030 more persons than the prior year. The largest increase compared to 2024 was recorded under Special Allowance For Post-Secondary Students, with 2,042 additional claimants. On the other hand, the biggest drop in recipients was registered under Sickness Assistance (453) (Table 3).