The percentage of over 50s now in work is shrinking, in spite of a plethora of measures to encourage them to stay in the workforce.

The number of over 50s working either full- or part-time jobs as their main occupation rose from 47,171 in March 2013 to 55,353 in March of this year, according to a reply given by Education Minister Evarist Bartolo to a Parliamentary Question by MP Robert Abela.

While the share of over 50s in Malta relative to the total potential working population (those aged 15-64) has grown from 13.11% to 15.08% over that four-year period, when compared to those actually in work, the percentage has dropped marginally, from 25.2% to 24.9%.

Government has encouraged more people to stay employed by allowing those over retirement age to work without affecting their pension, extending the possibility of working to widows and widowers, an extension of the 15% tax rate on self-employed work to pensioners, and schemes encouraging employers to take on those who have been unemployed for a certain time or who are particularly disadvantaged.