Among the 160,746 pensioners in Cyprus as of 2020, there are wide variations in the amount people receive, some getting up to €2,487 while others were granted €710.

With a total cost to the state of €1.45bn, the data made available by the labour department highlighted the disparity among pensioners but also the various criteria which may qualify a person for each bracket.

The highest monthly pension paid out was €2,487 to a person with one dependent, the latest data from June 2021 showed. Another pensioner with disabilities, listed at one hundred per cent, and three dependents received €2,173.

It’s worth noting that Cyprus’ median gross monthly earnings is €1,477, a figure contested by some as being inflated by public sector salaries.

Of the 160,746 pensioners there are 14,331 who receive more than one pension while the overall number of those receiving such state support is on the rise.

The number of pensioners in 2019 was 157,385, with pensions that cost €1.4bn.

In late 2020 the government said that no pensioner would receive less than €710 per month and that “no one will be under the poverty line”.

Late last month, deputy minister for welfare Anastasia Anthousi said the government recognised that low-income pensioners are a vulnerable group and announced a raft of measures to support them.

Daily Phileleftheros said that the labour department statistics for 2021 are not yet available.