Government spending towards Contributory Benefits amounted to €951.6 million, a 9.0 per cent increase from the previous year. Pensions in respect of Retirement recorded the largest increase of €56.6 million, following a €47.1 million rise in Two-Thirds Pension outlay. Further increases were registered under Pensions in respect of Widowhood (€12.4 million), Contributory Bonus (€5.7 million), Deficiency Contributory Bonus (€3.0 million), Pensions in respect of Invalidity (€0.6 million) and Other Benefits (€0.5 million) (Table 2).

By the close of September 2025, Non-Contributory spending reached €256.4 million, an 11.9 per cent increase in comparison to the previous year. The largest rise was registered under Child Allowance (€13.5 million), ahead of the Additional Cost of Living Adjustment (€6.7 million) and Disability Pensions/Allowance (€4.5 million). In contrast, the sharpest drop was recorded under Total Social Assistance (€0.6 million) (Table 3).

Social Security Beneficiaries

At the end of September 2025, the number of Two-Thirds pensioners totalled 62,851, an additional 1,868 beneficiaries compared to 2024. This growth represented the largest increase reported among Contributory Benefits. Conversely, the biggest drop was registered under Sickness Benefit (1,685) (Table 2).

The highest number of Non-Contributory beneficiaries was reported under the Additional Cost of Living Adjustment (97,637). This was despite reporting the largest decline (1,144) between Non-Contributory Benefits from 2024. On the other hand, the largest increase at 2,051 claimants was recorded under Special Allowance For Post-Secondary Students (Table 3).