Government spending towards Contributory Benefits amounted to €1,147.8 million, a 10.5 per cent rise from 2023. Pensions in respect of Retirement recorded the largest increase of €69.4 million, following the surge in Two-Thirds pensioners (2,288). Further increases were registered under Contributory Bonus (€21.5 million), Pensions in respect of Widowhood (€15.8 million), Other Benefits (€2.5 million), Deficiency Contributory Bonus (€0.9 million) and Benefits in respect of Industrial Injuries and Gratuities (€0.1 million). Conversely, Pensions in respect of Invalidity fell by €1.0 million (Table 2).

During 2024, Non-Contributory spending reached €326.2 million, a 21.1 per cent increase in comparison to the previous year. The rise was largely attributed to a €22.5 million increase in Child Allowance payments, coupled with a €22.4 million rise reported under the Additional Cost of Living Adjustment. The former includes the initial payments of the Special Allowance for Post-Seconday Students (€5.8 million), payable to parents whose children maintain their education status beyond the mandatory age (Table 3).

During the final quarter of 2024, Social Security Benefits spending reached €372.5 million, reflecting a €45.1 million rise from the previous year. Greater outlays were reported under both Contributory (€27.6 million) and Non-Contributory Benefits (€17.6 million). Pensions in respect of Retirement registered the largest increase of €17.5 million under Contributory Benefits (Table 4), while the biggest rise in Non-Contributory outlay was recorded by the Additional Cost of Living Adjustment (€9.3 million) (Table 5).

Social Security Beneficiaries

In 2024, Two-Thirds pensioners totalled 61,948 that was 2,288 additional beneficiaries than the corresponding period in 2023. This was the highest increase exhibited among recipients of Contributory Benefits, while, conversely, the biggest drop was registered under National Minimum Widows’ Pension (236) (Table 2).

The highest number of Non-Contributory beneficiaries was reported under the Additional Cost of Living Adjustment (106,716), also reporting the largest increase (11,144) in Non-Contributory Benefits. Furthermore, there were 45,674 families in receipt of Children’s Allowance, 754 more than the previous year. The biggest decline in recipients was witnessed under Supplementary Allowance (577) (Table 3).

In the closing quarter, the Two-Thirds Pension (57,624) and Additional Cost of Living Adjustment (96,737) were the most received Contributory and Non-Contributory Benefits, respectively (Tables 4 and 5).