'Scope' for private pensions

There was scope for private pensions that could help alleviate problems in the future but the government would always ensure there was a "safety net" insofar as pensions went, the parliamentary secretary in the Social Policy Ministry, Antoine Mifsud Bonnici, said.

Addressing the annual general meeting of the National Council for the Elderly, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said several reforms were needed, including a reform in the way people looked at issues.

"We need to shift from the welfare state to the welfare society concept.

"The pensions reform has to take place in very broad terms and should be a social security reform which touches all on aspects of welfare, not just pensions.

"The reform should ensure that the benefits go to whoever needs them most. Whenever abuses in social security take place these would be to the detriment of people who really need such help," Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.