By contrast, annual exit rates from benefit receipt are remarkably stable over the observation period, although they differ strongly across countries, ranging from 14% in Luxembourg to 43% in Latvia. In a comparison of entry and exit rates, it is important to keep in mind that the former are expressed relative to the (much larger) number of non-recipients while the latter give a proportion of recipients. A comparison of absolute numbers of benefit entries illustrates that rates of benefit receipt can rise despite very low entry rates of below 1 % from one year to the next (e.g. in Latvia and Luxembourg). More specifically, neither rates of benefit receipt nor transition rates into or out of benefit receipt change systematically across calendar months over the years of the observation period. Policy debates in many OECD countries evolve around a widespread perception that a sizeable group of SA benefit recipients relies on income-support payments for prolonged periods of time. If this perception were true, such long-term benefit dependence would raise doubts as to whether minimum-income benefit systems are successful at delivering the intended short-term protection against economic hardship while giving recipients support and incentives to quickly regain self-sufficiency.