If you stop work for a period of time, and resume at a later stage, your state pension may be affected.
If you do not pay your full contributory history as follows:
- Born between 1959 and 1961 – 52 contributions paid yearly over a period of 35 years – last 10 years prior to retirement and any other 25 years
- Born on and after 1962 – 52 contributions paid yearly over a period of 40 years
- Born on and after 1969 – 52 contributions paid yearly over 41 years.
you will not qualify for a full two-thirds pension – which means you will have a lower pension income.
If you are in employment, you may wish to pay Social Security Contributions (SSCs) to fill these gaps, and hence, add to your SSCs record which will eventually improve your pension rate.
Conditions:
During current year 2020, the scheme is applicable for those persons who are:
- currently in employment or self occupation
- aged 59 years up to and including 65 years of age
- applying to pay a further SS contributions up to a maximum of 260 contributions (5 yrs) which might not necessarily be the last five years prior to the request, but any contributions up to a maximum of 260.
- applying to pay contributions for the missing period for which period you would have been residing in Malta.
Applicable rate due is the current Class 2 Social Security Contribution Rate SA, which in 2020 stands at €30.77 per contribution.
Attached application, applicable to Maltese Residents if they satisfy the above conditions to cover these mentioned uninsured periods while residing in Malta, can be used for retrospective SSC payment.
Upon applying you will be given an indication of the difference in pension rate so that you will decide if it will be worthwhile paying additional contributions or otherwise. A tentative request will provide you with a personalized reply as soon as possible, however some issues may take longer to reply as they may require further investigation.
Last 5 Years
If you are a self-employed person and failed to pay your SSC dues, you can settle your dues directly with the Dept. Of Inland Revenue. You can pay for the previous 5 years of your social security contributory history at the time you decide to regularise your position according to your annual income of each preceding year. This does not apply to unemployed persons or to persons who were Employed (with an Employer) during the last 5 years.