Nearly 100,000 to benefit from pension increase of €12.50 a week
Just under 100,000 people will start to benefit from better pensions this week, in line with what was promised in the Budget presented in October.
Pensioners will see an increase of €12.50 per week - €2.60 in the pension rate and €9.90 to make up for the rising cost of living.
During the Budget, the government announced that all pensioners will benefit from a weekly increase of €12.50, or €650 a year, inclusive of the cost-of-living adjustment. The previous year, pensions had been increased by a total of €5 a week (€260 a year).
Addressing a press conference on Friday, Family Minister Michael Falzon said this is the eighth year in a row that pensioners are getting an increase in pensions.
He said this year, the government is spending an estimated €.1.1 billion on pensions namely retirement, widow’s, invalidity, and age.
Age pensioners (non-contributory): These pensioners started receiving their new pensions last Friday.
These pensioners are those who are aged 60+ but have not paid enough social security contributions to get a contributory pension.
According to the minister, the number of these beneficiaries has dropped in recent years and is now around 4,200. The drop is...