Momentum calls for social contributions from aged 16 to count towards pension
Pension contributions are only officially counted from the week a person turns 18
Social contributions from those aged 16 to 18 should count towards their pension, Momentum is urging.
In a statement on Monday, the party called on the government to address this "long-standing injustice in the country’s pension system that unfairly penalises young workers".
Under Malta’s Social Security Act Cap 318, pension contributions are only officially counted from the week a person turns 18, even though several young people start working and paying social security contributions as early as age 16.
Momentum's Matthew Agius said this was a clear form of age discrimination.
"Young people who start working at 16 or 17 contribute to the economy, pay taxes, and fulfil all their obligations like any other workers, yet their pension contribution clock doesn’t start ticking until they’re 18.
"That’s two full years of hard work that simply vanish from their future pension entitlement.”
Momentum said this inequity was further compounded by the increasing retirement age, which currently stands at 65 and may continue to rise in the years ahead.
“It is deeply unfair that young people are expected to work longer into their lives, yet the system denies them recognition for the work they do at the very start of their careers,” Agius added.
While the party hopes such a measure would be included in the upcoming national budget, it also proposed the entrenchment of non-discrimination based on age in Malta's constitution.