The social insurance bank (SVB) paid out some €29bn to over 4.8 million customers last year, according to its annual report. The SVB is responsible for child benefit, state pensions and welfare benefits for pensioners without a full pension because they have lived abroad.

The number of people claiming a state pension rose 50,000 to over 2.6 million last year. Of these 10,000 were entitled to top-up welfare payments.