Government expenditure on social security benefits rose by €27.4 million in the first six months of 2021, according to the National Statistics Office.
The NSO said this totalled €582.8 million, a 4.9% rise from the previous year with a €21.7 million rise in contributory expenditure being the primary reason behind the increase in spending. Another substantial increase was €5.7 million in the non-contributory outlay.
Government spending towards contributory benefits amounted to €478.8 million, 4.7% more than 2020. Retirement pensions recorded the largest increase - of €20.9 million, mainly the result of a rise of 2,109 in the number of two-thirds pensioners.
By the end of June, €103.9 million went towards non-contributory benefits, a 5.8% rise in comparison to 2020. The highest increases were reported under disability pensions/allowance (€1.6 million), child allowance (€1.6 million) and supplementary allowance (€1.4 million). A lower outlay was recorded under old-age pension (€0.4 million), non-contributory bonus (€0.2 million) and total social assistance (€0.2 million).
During the second quarter of the year, social benefits expenditure totalled €330.1 million, 82.8% of which covered contributory benefits (€273.5 million). The contributory outlay rose by €10.6 million while a €7.2 million increase was witnessed under non-contributory benefits.