More than 50 percent of state pensions for the month of October have been disbursed, as per the decision to disburse all bonuses to the public early ahead of the 6 October war victory holiday, the social solidarity ministry said on Friday.

According to the statement by the ministry of social solidarity, a total of EGP 15.17 billion in pension payments were disbursed to the Nasser Social Bank, post offices, and banks across the country on 1 to 3 October.

The statement added that in the same time period 3.7 million pensioners withdrew EGP 5.9 billion of that amount.

Egyptian pensioners usually receive their monthly pensions on three different days: the 5th, 10th or the 20th of each month.

Sunday is a national holiday in Egypt marking the 46th anniversary of the 6 October victory in 1973.