Government outlay towards social security benefits rose by €32.6 million by the end of June, in comparison to the same period in 2021, according to the National Statistics Office.

The NSO said that between January and June, spending on social security benefits totalled €615.4 million, 5.6% higher than in the previous year.

A €34.8 million rise in contributory expenditure was the primary reason behind the increase in spending, while non-contributory outlay fell by €2.2 million.

Government spending towards contributory benefits amounted to €513.6 million, a 7.3% rise from 2021.

Retirement pensions recorded the largest increase - €24.3 million - a result of close to 3,000 more persons being in receipt of the two-thirds pension.

During the first six months of 2022, €101.8 million went towards non-contributory benefits, a 2.1% decrease in comparison to the previous year. Age pension exhibited the largest drop at €2.2 million.

The drop in outlay was partially offset by increases reported under supplementary allowance (€2.6 million) and carers allowances/grants (€0.6 million).

In comparison to 2021, €36.5 million less was spent on social security benefits between April and June 2022, when €293.6 million was spent in total.

A €33 million drop in pensions in respect of retirement, following a double two-thirds pension payment being reported in April 2021, resulted in lower contributory expenditure (€31.4 million) being registered in 2022.

Furthermore, non-contributory benefits’ outlay fell by €5.1 million, due to lower government spending towards total social assistance (€3.6 million) and age pension (€1.6 million).

Beneficiaries

By the end of June 2022, the largest number of contributory beneficiaries was recorded under the two-thirds pension (56,621).

Sickness benefit reported the highest increase among recipients, with 4,966 additional beneficiaries when compared to 2021. On the other hand, the biggest drop in recipients was registered under the retirement pension (946).

Children’s allowance reported the highest number of non-contributory recipients, with 42,667 families in receipt of the benefit.

The in-work benefit recorded the largest increase in beneficiaries of 2,074, while the largest decline in recipients was witnessed under in-work supplement (1,152).

Similar scenarios were encountered during the second quarter of 2022, with the two-thirds pension (55,975) and children’s allowance (41,634) being the most commonly received contributory and non-contributory benefits, respectively.