Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1520224
5 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 MAY 2024 ANNOUNCEMENT OF A CALL FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS UNDER RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (RDP) FOR MALTA 2014-2022 The Ministry responsible for European Funds would like to announce that it is re-launching the following calls for project proposals: Measure 1.1: Support for vocational training and skills acquisition actions. Measure 3.1: Support for new participation in quality schemes. Measure 3.2: Support for information and promotion activities implemented by groups of producers in the internal market. The calls will close on Thursday 6 th June 2024 at noon. The application forms for the submission of project proposals and supporting documentation can be downloaded from https://fondi.eu/what-funding-is-available/ and sent by email on rdsubmissions.mees@gov.mt . Prospective applicants are to refer to the Measure Guidelines to confirm that their proposals are eligible for funding through this call for project proposals. Further information on these calls and on the RDP may be obtained from https://fondi.eu . Any query should be sent by email on fondi.eu@gov.mt or on tel number: 2779 7300. A dedicated information session will be organised at The Oaks Business Centre. Farsons Street, Hamrun (Managing Authority Office). The session will be held on Friday 17 th May 2024 at: 10am – M1.1 support for vocational training and skills acquisition actions 12:30pm – M31 Support for new participation in quality schemes and Measure 3.2 and Support for information and promotion activities implemented by groups of producers in the internal market. Registration for the information session can be done by scanning the below QR code. HEALTHIER life years after retirement, older workers, and unprecedented population in- crease: this is the picture of Malta over the next half-centu- ry. Population projections from the finance ministry's annu- al report on ageing submitted to the European Commission place the island's population in 2070 at just under 811,000 – a 53% increase over present fig- ures of 527,000. Not only will Malta host even more people in what is already one of the densest places on earth – 1,666 people per square kilometre – but there will also be fewer young people being born as a healthier population grows older. Indeed, the share of very young people aged up to 14 will decrease from its current 13.4% share, to 11.1% in 2070, while those aged over 65 will increase from 19.3% to a whop- ping 33.6%. Medical advancements will al- so guarantee greater life expec- tancy for men, rising by over six years to reach 87 in 2070, and for women to reach close to 91. And net migration, the dif- ference between incoming and outgoing migration, will fall from 11,456 in 2022 to just un- der 4,000 in 2070. With one person in three aged over 65 towards the end of the next century, this demographic change means a greater share of the working population aged 20-64 will be bearing the fi- nancial 'burden' of the elderly: from 63.2% currently financing the pension pot and healthcare cost, that ratio will fall to 51.5% in 2070. Dependency ratios – those who are likely to be "depend- ent" on the support of others, youths and pensioners, for their daily living – better illustrate the kind of ageing society Malta will be living in, in 2070. The old-age-dependency ra- tio – those aged over 65 rela- tive to those aged 20-64 – will increase from 30.5% to 65.4% in 2070; while that for those aged over 75, relative to the 20-74 age bracket, will also grow from 11.5% to 30%. In this scenario however, there will be more people gainfully employed in the labour mar- ket. For example, there will be far more workers aged 55-64, increasing from 55.3% to 71.8% in 2070. Men's average exit age from work, currently at just under 63, will edge up to 63.6 years in 2070, and women from 63.1 to 63.6, an increase that re- flects the rise of the statutory retirement age by 2027, length- ening the contributory period by 2034, and the incentives to defer retirement. This should result in more people with full contribution postponing retire- ment by one to four years. With an ageing population comes a higher spend to finance the national pension pot, cur- rently costing 6.2% of Malta's GDP. By 2070, it will be 10.5% of GDP while revenue from contributions would have fallen from 7.6% to 7.2% of GDP. By increasing retirement age and the contribution period for full pension eligibility, the project- ed increase in pension expend- iture is lowered. Malta population in 2070 to grow to 811,000 MATTHEW VELLA mvella@mediatoday.com.mt