Spending on social benefits between January and September was up by 3.7 per cent when compared to the equivalent period last year. 

In a statement, the National Statistics Office (NSO) €752.9 million had been spent on social benefits by the end of September. 

Both contributory and non-contributory spending rose during
the period in question, with the former accounting for €26.3 million or 97.7 per cent of the total rise in social outlay.

Contributory benefits outlay totalled €611.2 million, 4.5 per cent higher than 2018.

This increment was due to a €20.8 million rise reported under pensions in respect of retirement, which resulted from a higher number of two-thirds pensioners, the NSO said. 

By the end of September 2019, the two-thirds pension registered the largest cohort of recipients at 50,562 people, coupled with the biggest year-over-year rise of 2,129.

In contrast, the national minimum widows’ pension reported the largest drop in beneficiaries with 623 less persons reported than the corresponding period of 2018. 

The largest share of non-contributory recipients was registered under children’s allowance (41,611), in spite of reporting the largest drop in beneficiaries at 1,482.