Government expenditure on social security benefits continued to rise significantly in 2025, with the latest figures published by the National Statistics Office confirming a clear upward trend compared to 2024.
Data released by the NSO shows that by the end of 2025, spending on social security benefits had reached €1.61 billion marking a 9.7% increase over the €1.47 billion spent in 2024.
This increase reflects a continuation of the trend already visible earlier in the year with social expenditure rising buy y 11% year during the first half of the year.
The largest share of the increase was driven by contributory benefits, particularly pensions. Government spending on contributory benefits reached €951.6 million by September 2025, representing a 9% increase over the previous year.
Within this category, retirement pensions accounted for the bulk of the rise, with a notable increase linked to the growing number of pensioners and higher payouts under schemes such as the Two-Thirds Pension.
Spending on non-contributory benefits also increased sharply, reaching €256.4 million by September 2025, up 11.9% compared to 2024 with the the main drivers for the increase being child allowances, COLA increases and disability-related benefits.
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