Malta’s Gender Pension Gap At 37%

The Gender Pension Gap in Malta currently stands at almost 37%, according to information provided in Parliament by Minister for Social Policy and the Family Michael Falzon.

Falzon said the figure, calculated by the National Statistics Office, must be interpreted carefully as it does not provide a complete picture of the situation. He explained that a significant part of the gap is linked to past social circumstances, when many women left the workforce after marriage, resulting in lower pension entitlements or no pension entitlement compared to men.

The Minister said that, in recent years, the Government introduced various schemes and amendments to Social Security legislation aimed at supporting women affected by these circumstances. He added that these measures have contributed to an increase in the number of female pensioners.

Falzon also referred to a mechanism introduced in 2015 for people who do not have ten years of paid social security contributions. Under this system, individuals receive an annual one-time bonus based on the number of contributions paid, with the measure later strengthened through successive budgets.

However, he said the inclusion of this bonus in the calculation of the Gender Pension Gap affects the final figure, as it reduces the average pension amount attributed to women despite not being a pension itself. According to Falzon, without this bonus, the gap would stand at below 29%.

#MaltaDaily