The way we earn and spend our money speaks volumes about our economic well-being and on the way our society is changing. The Central Bank of Malta has just published the results of a household finance and consumption survey for 2013. It makes very interesting reading.

One of the first findings of the study is that Maltese households, like those of other western countries, are becoming smaller. Malta now has 160,000 households with an average of 2.6 members in each. The number of one- and two-person households is also increasing. Single-person households represent one quarter of all households.

This may seem as neutral information but, in reality, it indicates how our society is fast aging and how many more people are now living on their own. This is partly because it has become easier to leave the family home, say, as a result of marital difficulties or because one member of an elderly couple has passed away. The social implications of this will be felt more acutely in the next decade as living on one’s own, especially if in poor health, presents serious challenges to the country’s healthcare system.

The average income of Maltese households in 2013 was €30,000 while the median income was a more modest €23,021. While both figures represent an increase over 2010 statistics, many economists and sociologists would wonder whether this declared income is in line with the good standard of living that many Maltese enjoy.

Or is it a reflection of the extent of the submerged economy where many have a second or third job that earns them money that is not caught by statistics? This, in turn, raises the question on how determined the government is in ensuring that what remains of the welfare state is supported by a robust funding model.

In the post-war years, Maltese families lived a frugal life, saving money for a rainy day as the economic fundamentals were then very weak and the world had not yet heard about consumerism. This, of course, has changed immensely, party as a result of the culture of dependence that has been fostered in parts of Maltese society that relies on the ‘from the cradle to the grave’ system of public social welfare.

Households were saving an average of €5,500 a year in 2013 and had an average of €53,140 financial assets per household. The question that needs to be asked is whether this amount of savings is enough to support people in their old age as the cost of private care for older people becomes more significant as our population ages.

It is very laudable that 80 per cent of Maltese households own their home, even if some still depend on their mortgagee to do so. This is one of the best statistics on home ownership in the European Union. What is less encouraging is that only a quarter of households are covered by a life insurance or participated in a voluntary pension scheme. This confirms that many still do not consider the challenges that they may face in old age when regular employment income stops or when sudden death of a breadwinner stems a household’s cash flow.

The household financial survey statistics need to be dissected even further to obtain a clearer indication of the challenges that Maltese society faces both today and, equally important, in the future as the social safety system is stretched further by an aging population and inadequate forward-looking policies on social welfare.