The term social security benefits refers to various benefits (contributory and non-contributory) that fall under the remit of the Department of Social Security (DSS) in accordance to the Social Security Act (Cap. 318.) whereby the applicant would receive monetary benefits.
Benefits include pension payments to retirees, payments to widowers, invalidity pension payments, maternity payments, payments for medical needs, In-work benefit that help maintain family income at certain levels, and more. Some benefits are not means-tested. That is, one’s wealth or lack of it does not determine whether benefits are granted.
The following link is a guide to a list of benefits provided by the Social Security Department: https://socialsecurity.gov.mt/en/Benefits-and%20Assistance/Pages/default.aspx
Today we are going to define contribution and elaborate on contributory benefits. Other benefits paid by DSS will be dealt with in the following posts. Just look for our weekly updates.