Government spending towards Contributory Benefits amounted to €605.0 million, a 10.3 per cent rise from 2023. Pensions in respect of Retirement recorded the largest increase of €35.7 million, as the number of Two-Thirds pensioners rose by 2,152 individuals. Further increases were registered under Contributory Bonus (€12.3 million), Pensions in respect of Widowhood (€7.6 million), Other Benefits (€1.0 million) and Benefits in respect of Industrial Injuries and Gratuities (€0.1 million). Conversely, Pensions in respect of Invalidity fell by €0.1 million (Table 2).

By the end of June 2024, Non-Contributory spending amounted to €167.3 million, a 26.5 per cent increase in comparison to the previous year. The rise was largely attributed to a €15.5 million increase in Additional Cost of Living Adjustment payments, together with a €13.5 million increase in Child Allowance. The latter includes the initial payments of the Special Allowance for Post-Secondary Students (€5.3 million), payable to parents whose children maintain their education status beyond the mandatory age (Table 3).

During the second quarter of 2024, Social Security Benefits spending reached €374.5 million, reflecting a €53.3 million rise from the previous year. Similar growths were reported under both Contributory (€26.6 million) and Non-Contributory Benefits (€26.7 million). Pensions in respect of Retirement registered the largest increase of €15.8 million under Contributory Benefits (Table 4), while the biggest rise in Non-Contributory outlay was recorded by the Additional Cost of Living Adjustment (€15.5 million) (Table 5).

Social Security Beneficiaries

During the first half of 2024, Two-Thirds pensioners totalled 59,901, an increase of 2,152 beneficiaries over the corresponding period in 2023. This was the highest increase exhibited among recipients of Contributory Benefits. Conversely, the biggest drop was registered under Sickness Benefit (756) (Table 2).

The highest number of Non-Contributory beneficiaries was reported under the Additional Cost of Living Adjustment (98,272), the largest reported increase (92,005) in Non-Contributory Benefits. Furthermore, there were 43,748 families in receipt of Children’s Allowance, 704 more than the previous year. The biggest decline in recipients was witnessed under Supplementary Allowance (626) (Table 3).

In the second quarter, the Two-Thirds Pension (57,619) and Additional Cost of Living Adjustment (98,259) were the most received Contributory and Non-Contributory Benefits, respectively (Tables 4 and 5).