Around 95,000 families with a total of 194,000 people will receive the first of two payments of Additional Cost of Living Benefit due at the end of this week.
The payment, which covers from January 1 to the end of June 2024, in total reaches €14.7 million, while the second payment, which covers the second half of the year 2024, will be paid in May which is coming. More than half (53%) of those beneficiaries of this payment are not at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
These details were announced during a news conference addressed by the Minister for Social Policy and Children’s Rights, Michael Falzon and Permanent Secretary Mark Musu. During it it was explained how this payment is based on an additional compensation mechanism for the cost of living adjusted according to the income of the families and the number of members in their family living in the same residence.
Minister Michael Falzon stated that this benefit will be between €100 and €1,500 per year, which rates vary according to income and family members, and he said that in total this aid against the cost of living expected to exceed €30 million next year.
“We are incentivizing people and doing this in a background where our country has the largest rate of people in employment and the lowest unemployment rate, the largest economic growth in the entire European Union, and the largest network of ‘ social measures. However, we understand the social realities of the moment and that’s why we continued to strengthen the situation of our families,” stated Minister Michael Falzon.
In a detailed presentation, Permanent Secretary Mark Musu explained several different income levels of people who will be benefiting from this benefit.
| Available income (after tax and contributions) according to family size | € |
| One person family | 18,155 |
| Family with two people | 27,233 |
| Family with three people (child under 14) | 32,679 |
| Family of three (child aged 14 or over) | 36,310 |
| Family of four (2 children under 14) | 38,126 |
| Family of four (child under 14 + child 14 or over) | 41,757 |
| Family of five (3 children under 14) | 43,572 |
| Family of five (2 children under 14 + child 14 or over) | 47,203 |
| Other/larger families | 50,000 |
Permanent Secretary Mark Musu explained that not only families at risk of poverty or vulnerable are benefiting, but also those in the middle range of society. So much so that according to the latest NSO figures on family income, around 44,000 families are considered to be at risk of poverty. However, a total of around 95,000 will be benefiting from this benefit.
This also means that 30% of the families who took this benefit (almost 50,000) are not at risk of poverty and social exclusion, and are still being helped with this benefit.
Of those who are receiving the payment due at the end of this week, 37,748 are single people, 17,881 couples and 36,735 families with children.
