Nearly €220 billion were spent in the European Union (EU) on survivors’ benefits in 2014. This represented almost 6% of the total spent on social benefits, a rate almost equivalent with that spent for unemployment (5%) and disability (7%). Survivors’ benefits include income maintenance and support in connection with the death of a family member, such as survivors’ pensions.
Share of survivors’ benefits highest in Poland and Greece
The share of benefits spent on survivor benefits varied significantly between Member States. It accounted for more than 9% of total social benefits in Poland (10.2%), Greece (10.0%), Spain (9.9%), Croatia (9.8%) and Italy (9.3%), but for less than 2% in the United Kingdom and Estonia (both 0.4%), Sweden (1.3%) and Latvia (1.4%). Differences in the age structure of the population may partly influence these shares.
The source dataset can be found here.
Amount spent on survival benefits averaged €431 per inhabitant
An expenditure above 1000 euros per inhabitant was registered in Luxembourg* (with €1608) as well as in Denmark (€1039). They were followed by Italy (€716), Austria (€701) Belgium (€698) and Germany (€679). At the opposite end of the scale, expenditure stood below 60 euros per inhabitant in Bulgaria (€58), Lithuania (€54), Romania (€51), United Kingdom (€34), Latvia (€23) and Estonia (€9). On average in the EU, the expenditure on survivors’ benefits amounted to €431 per inhabitant.
* The value is overestimated for Luxembourg compared with other countries, as a significant proportion of benefits are paid to persons living outside the country.
For more information:
Eurostat website section dedicated to social protection statistics.