Qtr of southern welfare is invalidity benefits, INPS

Almost a quarter of pension and welfare payments in southern Italy, 22.96%, are for invalidity benefits, or 1.25 million of the 5.47 million cheques paid out, social security and pensions agency INPS said Friday on end-2013 figures. This was double the percentage in the North of 11.36% – less than a million out of 8.77 million.
Overall, INPS pays 2.8 million invalidity cheques, with a monthly average of 420 euros, prevalently in the South (844,436) and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily (414,076). In the centre there are currently 583,492 and in the north as a whole less than a million – 598,528 in the north west and 398,166 in the north east.