Social Security closed 2022 with a surplus of 4,065.9 million euros, the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security announced this Friday.
In a statement on the Summary of Budget Execution released this Friday by the General Directorate of the Budget (DGO), the ministry chaired by Ana Mendes Godinho assures that the balance reached in December results “from the positive evolution of employment in 2022.”
The recorded surplus of more than four billion euros is compared to the balance of 2,596.0 million euros provided for in the General State Budget for 2022.
This result reflects the increase in effective Social Security income of 5.8% compared to December 2021, up to a total of 35,522.8 million euros.
This variation is mainly due to the increase in contributions and contributions of 2,356.9 million euros (which corresponds to a variation of 11.8%),” says the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security.
Real spending amounted to 31,456.9 million euros, 0.7% more (218.7 million euros) than in the same period of 2021.
Among the items that contributed to the increase in spending is the increase in spending on pensions and supplements of 1,260.9 million euros (+6.8% compared to December 2021), “including the exceptional supplement for pensioners, amounting to 647.9 million euros, paid in October”.
Still on the spending side, the Ministry of Social Security highlights the payment of extraordinary aid to holders of income and social benefits and extraordinary aid to dependent person, in the field of support measures for families, for a global amount of 138.1 million euros; extraordinary support for the most vulnerable people, for a total amount of 368.2 million euros or spending with support for the Child Guarantee, for an amount of 25.1 million euros (amount that includes retroactive effects to July 2022) .
The increase in real spending was contributed by the year-on-year increase of 10.9% (plus 223.6 million euros) of spending with social action programs and benefits, including the payment, in December, of measures to mitigate the effects of inflation and the anticipation of part of the 2023 update of cooperation agreements with private social solidarity institutions.
On the contrary, spending on unemployment benefits ended the year registering a decrease of 19.9% (-316.2 million euros) compared to the end of 2021.
The evolution of the pandemic situation throughout 2022 has had a positive impact on the execution side Spending on measures to combat, prevent and normalize Social Security liability amounted to 599.2 million, which translates into a reduction in spending of 1,320.8 million euros, compared to the same period of the previous year.
On the income side, it is estimated that the loss of tax income associated with the exemption from the payment of the Single Social Tax amounts to 8.1 million euros”, underlines the ministry chaired by Ana Mendes Godinho, stressing that the rest of the measures with an impact on revenue do not translate into loss of revenue but rather approval.
On the expenditure side, prophylactic isolation was the measure with the greatest impact with 245.8 million euros, followed by spending on extraordinary incentives for the normalization of business activity (129.0 million euros), with extraordinary support for the workers’ income (78.0 million euros) and sickness allowance (66.9 million euros).
The extraordinary support for the progressive resumption of activity, the assistance subsidy for grandchildren and children and simplified unemployment, amounting to 45.3 million, 15.3 million euros and 9.3 million euros, have also had a significant impact. , respectively”, indicates the same information.
Source: Observadora
