It was announced that next Saturday the invalidity pensioners and those on the national minimum pension will be paid. Thus, during these first weeks of January, all categories of pensioners will have been paid, amounting to 100,000 pensioners, who will all receive increases that will amount to at least an increase of €780 when compared to last year.
At the same time, the Department of Social Security is working on the difference due to pensioners who were born after the year 1962, in order to gradually fix an anomaly that was created in the year 2006.
Thus, with effect from this year, the ceiling of those born before 1962 will begin to rise at a faster pace than those born after to gradually remove the difference between the two . Those born before 1962 and whose current Pensionable Income varies between €20,424 and €22,000 will be getting an additional increase up to a maximum of €9.48 per week.
These details were announced by the Minister for Social Policy and Children’s Rights Michael Falzon during a news conference.
Minister Michael Falzon said that this Government will continue to keep its word and the promises it made to all families and pensioners. “As we passed the middle of this month, thousands of people can testify to this commitment. This while at the end of last year we paid in advance the payments of the Children’s Allowance, the In-Work Benefit and the additional COLA mechanism, among others,” stated Minister Michael Falzon.
The Minister explained how the In-Work Benefit together with the Tapering of Benefits, free child care and other initiatives taken by the Government, gave a boost so that many beneficiaries of Social Assistance went out into the world of work and did not they continued to depend on social assistance, so much so that from 2013 until today the beneficiaries of Social Assistance have decreased by 56%.
It was also mentioned how the child bonus has been strengthened again to help families with a new child or adoption. For the second time this bonus will be increased and from €400 for each child it will rise to €500 for the first child and to €1,000 for the second new child in the family or more.
With the first payments issued this year, 4 cases where there was a first child and 9 cases where there was a second child were paid. It is calculated that around 3,200 families will benefit from these higher rates.
“This Government will continue to strengthen the financial situation of all families while giving a better quality of life, and a balance between work and time with the family,” concluded Minister Falzon.
