BORN BETWEEN 1959 AND 1961 AND WORKED AS AN EMPLOYEE AND SELF-EMPLOYED

The term ‘self-employed’ is used here as applied in common discourse – a person who works for him or herself and who may be on his/her own or employs other persons.

These are the key elements on which your pension is based:

Filling Gaps in Your Pension Contributions

Any missing contributions in the last ten years prior to your pension age might have had a negative effect on your pension entitlement.

If you have not yet claimed for a pension, still in employment and you are 59 years and over, you can fill gaps in your pension contributions by applying to pay retrospective contributions by Budget Measure 2015, up to a maximum of 5 years, meaning 260 contributions at SA rate. This will increase the contribution average.  For more information, please click here.

The Maximum Weekly Pension

The Maximum Pensionable income on which your pension is calculated increased by the Cost of Living Allowance year on year since 2009.

The Maximum Weekly Pension.

The pension income you receive depends upon the number of contributions paid and salary or income earned.

If you were in receipt of a salary or income greater than or equal to the maximum pensionable income, having paid 30 years of contributions (born on or before 1951), your pension income is calculated to the Maximum Pensionable Income threshold.

Increase in the Maximum Pension Income

The Maximum Pensionable Income increases every year by the cost of living allowance. The cost of living adjustment for each year is announced in yearly Budget speech.

Revision in Pension Rate and Top-Up pegged to the Postponement of Pension Beyond the Age of 61

For those born during or after 1952, and whose contribution average was not full (50), they are entitled for a re-assessment, according to Budget 2018 amendments by considering the contributions paid from age 62 to age 65.  These revisions in pension rate are carried out back dated starting from 06/01/2018 because such amendment came into place with effect from 2018.

Reaching Your Statutory Pension Age:  64 years of age:

64 years of age is your statutory retirement age – that is at this age your work with your employer is terminated.  You can only continue to work with your employer if s/he invites you to continue to work with him/her.

At 61 years of age you could have opted for early retirement  – subject to the condition that you have 35 years of fully paid contributions.

If you decided not to opt for early retirement and deferred the receipt of your pension you will benefit from the incentive scheme provided by government for persons who continue to work up to their pension age.  This incentive scheme is also designed to encourage to work up to 65 years of age by increasing the pension income you are entitled to.  To know more about this incentive scheme click here.

Working beyond 65 years of Age

You can continue to work beyond 65 years of age if you wish to do so.  Once gain you can only continue to work with your employer if s/he invites you to do so.  If you continue to work once you reach 65 years of age you will not pay the social security contribution on the salary or income earned.  To know more about this incentive scheme click here.

Credits to your Contributory History

Keep in mind that you may qualify for credited contributions – that is special instances in your life where you do not work and, hence and you are unable to pay a contribution.  The Government considers such instances to have important social, economic and family implications and, thus, credits or ‘pays’ the contributions on your behalf.  This ensures that you will have no gaps in your accumulation of contributions, which would otherwise result in a lower pension.  It can be the case that in the same year you can have a combination of paid and credited contributions.

The special circumstances under which credits apply include:

• If you are in receipt of a Sickness Benefit, or Injury Benefit, or Unemployment Benefit, or Special Unemployment Benefit, or Invalidity Pension.
• If you are seeking employment through Jobsplus – under Part One of the Register kept in accordance with the provisions of the Employment and Training Services Act.
• Carrying out or have carried out volunteer work in Malta or abroad.
• Took a career break to care for your child.
• You are entitled to a Carers’ Pension.
• Retired from the service on a full pension from Government (examples an ex-member of the Malta Police Force or of the Armed Forces of Malta) on completion of service prior to reaching pension age.
• Continued with life long learning, further and higher education.

Want to Know More about the Pension System?

If you wish to know more about the pension system ĠEMMA’s invites you to go through our pension video series on https://gemma.gov.mt/videos/.

The revision of the pension income you receive is carried out in line with the revision of the Collective Agreement of your employer.  If your employer does not have a collective agreement but the company still exists, a document is sent to your past employer whereby the employer informs the Department of Social Security about the salaries being earned by the employee who resumed your responsibilities.  If the company has closed down since your retirement the re-assessment of your pension is carried out on an identified analogous grade with the Public Service salary structure.