During one packed mass meeting for which I was present, the speaker claimed emphatically: “The two thirds pension is the least you can get and not the most!”. The speaker was none other than Eddie Fenech Adami, speaking prior to the 1987 general election. The promise attached to these words never materialised.
The government (this time a Nationalist) continued to deduct (for deduct read rob) from the ex-British workers, their British pension as soon as they turned 61 by way of subtracting the British pension amount from the National Insurance (NI) pension. This practice is still in force today, the deduction from the NI being applicable to all those who have a second tier pension, such as pensioned ex-Malta government employees with a treasury pension. The latter category receive about a third of their NI pension after a heavy deduction, precisely because they have a second tier (treasury) pension. And now authority has the gall to advertise the concept of a second tier pension!
In actual fact, the British government is subsidising the Maltese pension system after 44 years of independence (1964-2010) and 31 years of “freedom” from British presence (1979-2010). How the British can afford to subsidise the Maltese via individual pension deductions from its ex-workers in Malta by our NI department boggles the mind!
Not a week passes during which The Times does not carry a letter regarding the subject of pensions. And with good reason! Readers ought to be made aware that during the course of John’s working life of some 40 years, typically between age 21 and age 61, John forks out 10 per cent of his salary as NI contribution together with another 10 per cent forked out by his employer. This makes up 20 per cent (one fifth) of John’s salary, presumably towards his pension. Now this is debatable. What exactly does John pay NI for? What does it cover? We are being very much short changed regarding such information even though we pay taxes to support a department of information (DOI) and a 65 plus four member Parliament together with a statistics department. Speak up gentlemen! Give us an itemised bill. How can one discuss sustainability of pensions if the arithmetic is missing or kept under wraps?