At the end of this week, approximately 100,000 families will receive the second of two payments of the Additional Benefit against the Cost of Living. The payment, which covers the second half of the year 2024, totals €17.1 million. Thus in total, during this year, €33 million will have been paid on this individual benefit spread over two payments made last December and now in May.
This was announced by the Minister for Social Policy and Children’s Rights, Michael Falzon and the Permanent Secretary, Mark Musu, during a news conference. The main message was that this payment is another confirmation of the Government’s policy in favor of the people and the quality of life.
In the first installment of the year, 95,884 families had been paid. This time another 3,500 families will be paid because their income information has now been established and they will then be paid a full year’s benefit.
In total, 197,000 people will benefit from the Additional Benefit against the Cost of Living.
The benefit varies between €100 and €1,500 in the year. The lower the income and the more eligible members there are in the family, the greater the amount of the benefit. Meanwhile, the benefit continues to be paid every year, and rises according to how inflation rises and according to how much the national median income rises.
“This is the policy we want for the people. This is the difference that year after year the people continued to enjoy. This is after a commitment and work from a Government that constantly implements a policy that reaches the people”, claimed Minister Michael Falzon and he notes a political difference between a Government that invests in people and previous administrations that even taxed the National Minimum Wage and froze pensions.
