Between January and March 2026, spending on Social Security benefits amounted to €491.3 million, 11.2 per cent higher than the €441.9 million recorded at the end of March 2025.
Higher expenditure was reported for both contributory (€35.0 million) and noncontributory benefits (€14.3 million).
Government spending towards contributory benefits amounted to €390.3 million, a 9.9 per cent increase from the previous year. Pensions in respect of Retirement recorded the largest increase of €25.2 million, mainly resulting from a €32.5 million rise in Two-Thirds Pension outlay.
Further increases were registered under Pensions in respect of Widowhood (€5.9 million), Contributory Bonus (€2.4 million), Other Benefits (€0.8 million), Deficiency Contributory Bonus (€0.7 million) and Pensions in respect of Invalidity (€0.2 million).
Non-Contributory spending reached €101.0 million by the close of March 2026, representing a 16.6 per cent increase in comparison to the previous year.
The largest rise was registered under Child Allowance (€5.4 million), following the new payments of the Grant to Families with Children in Years 10 and 11 (€3.9 million), and ahead of the Assistance to Help the Elderly Live Independently (€4.2 million) and Disability Pensions/Allowance (€1.5 million).
In contrast, marginal €0.1 million drops were recorded under both Total Social Assistance and Medical Assistance.
Between January and March 2026, the number of Two-Thirds pensioners totalled 62,670, an additional 4,050 beneficiaries compared to 2025.
This growth represented the largest increase reported among Contributory Benefits. Conversely, the biggest drop was registered under Increased National Minimum Pension (1,633).
The highest number of Non-Contributory beneficiaries was reported under the Assistance to Help the Elderly Live Independently (44,338), 456 more persons than the year before.
In relation to the year 2025, the largest increase was recorded under the Grant to Families with Children in Years 10 and 11, at 7,482 claimants. On the other hand, the biggest drop in recipients was registered under the In-Work Benefit (1,288).
