Official: 5,000 pensioners living in poverty

Malta has at least 5,000 citizens over 65 years who are living in poverty and cannot make ends meet despite receiving a state pension, according to new data presented in parliament.

After weeks of procrastination, avoiding a reply to repeated parliamentary questions by PN MP Paula Mifsud Bonnici seeking information on how many pensioners were receiving a pension of less than €800 a month, the government finally gave in and produced disturbing data.

According to Social Policy Minister Michael Falzon, data extracted from government servers show that in 2023, 5,023 Maltese pensioners had a total monthly income of less than €800, which also includes their pension.

This means that their pension is even less than the €800 threshold, as it includes other sources of income, such as bank interest and investments.

According to NSO and EU statistics, in 2023, those who earn less than €800 a month were considered at risk of poverty.

Almost half of those on a pension and living in poverty have much less income. The worst off are approximately 500 people over 65 years who have an income of less than €500 per month.

It is estimated that there are approximately 101,000 pensioners in Malta.

Over the past few years, the government has attempted to address the vulnerability situation among pensioners by increasing pensions across the board, including with a full yearly cost-of-living adjustment.

According to the latest EU-SILC data published by Malta’s NSO, in 2023, there were 88,462 individuals living below the at‑risk‑of‑poverty threshold (national equivalised disposable income below €11,364), representing 16.6 % of the population.