Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1544871
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 MAY 2026 NEWS How a pension benefit distorted Malta's gender gap figures MALTA'S apparent widening gender pension gap is largely the result of a statistical distortion caused by a new benefit, a Cen- tral Bank of Malta study argues. The study by Aaron Grech, chief officer of the CBM's Eco- nomics Division, focuses on the deficiency contributory bonus (DCB), introduced in 2015. The bonus is designed to provide an annual payment averaging around €800 to elderly individ- uals, mainly women, who had insufficient social security con- tributions to qualify for a full pension. Eurostat data shows Malta's average gender pension gap in- creasing from about 31.5% in 2015 to 40.3% in 2024, the high- est in the EU compared with an EU average of around 24.5%. At face value, this suggests a worsening position for women. However, Grech's analysis ar- gues that the change is driven by how beneficiaries are count- ed rather than a real decline in pension outcomes. Before the DCB was intro- duced, thousands of women re- ceiving no pension income were excluded from official pension statistics. Once the scheme was implemented, around 14,000 women were brought into the pensioner population for the first time. Because the DCB is significantly lower than a full pension, their inclusion me- chanically reduced the average female pension and widened the measured gap. The report describes this as a statistical artefact—policies that extend basic income support to previously excluded groups im- prove coverage but can lower average values, creating a mis- leading impression of deterio- ration. A different picture emerges when using the median pension gap, which compares the "typ- ical" pension received by men and women. On this basis, Malta ranks fifth in the EU rather than first, and the gap has actually improved slightly, falling from 36.2% in 2015 to 34.9% in 2024. This contrasts with the wors- ening average gap and suggests gradual improvement for the typical female pensioner. The study notes that Malta's median gap remains above the EU median average of 24.9%, but argues it provides a more stable indicator because it is less affected by extreme values, such as the large number of small DCB payments. Beyond methodological issues, the Central Bank highlights broader improvements. Median incomes among older women have risen significantly over the past decade, while deprivation rates have declined, and the pension coverage gap between men and women has narrowed sharply from 24.6 percentage points in 2015 to 6.3 points in 2024. Grech concludes that while inequalities persist, Malta's worsening gender pension gap largely reflects the unintended statistical consequences of poli- cies that have expanded pension coverage for women rather than evidence of declining retirement outcomes. JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 Case officers warned that the project would intensify visual intrusion into a sensitive valley landscape and irreversibly alter the rural character of the area. "The proposed development is inappropriate within the sur- rounding context," the report states, noting that the area is dominated by farmland and open countryside. The negative recommendation is being made despite policies al- lowing old people's homes among the few forms of large-scale social infrastructure that can, in excep- tional cases, be considered on ODZ land under Malta's Stra- tegic Plan for Environment and Development (SPED). However, planners stressed that the policy only allows such devel- opment where no feasible alter- natives exist within development zones. In this case, the applicant's own site selection exercise iden- tified a Marsaskala site within the development zone as the most suitable option. Officials con- cluded that the Żabbar site "can never be acceptable from a plan- ning point of view as it is protect- ed from development". The Environment and Resourc- es Authority also objected, warn- ing that the proposal would result in the "uptake of ODZ land to ac- commodate urban uses" and in- sisting that such projects should be restricted to already urbanised areas. Because the scheme was con- sidered objectionable "in princi- ple", ERA did not even request the full Environmental Impact Assessment normally required for projects of this scale in envi- ronmentally sensitive areas. The proposal first sparked con- troversy last summer when it was revealed by MaltaToday that the development would occupy ag- ricultural land linking Żabbar to Marsaskala. The project triggered objections from NGOs including Moviment Graffitti and Din l-Art Ħelwa, both of which argued that the scale of the building was incom- patible with the surrounding ru- ral landscape and contradicted national planning policy protect- ing ODZ land. The Żabbar Local Council led by Labour mayor Jorge Grech also objected, arguing that alter- native sites exist within the locali- ty's development boundaries and warning that the project would lead to "extensive take-up of un- developed rural land". The issue also caused contro- versy in the local council. During a council meeting in April, PN councillors stopped short of for- mally endorsing the project but voted against the council object- ing to it. PN minority leader Joseph Butt- igieg argued that Żabbar needed an elderly home and cited exist- ing planning policies allowing such facilities on ODZ land in exceptional circumstances. He reportedly said he would have opposed the project if it were an apartment block, but viewed an elderly home differently because older residents were being forced to leave the locality to find ac- commodation elsewhere. The Planning Board's decision on 14 May comes in the middle of the electoral campaign, poten- tially turning into an occasion for the government to show that it is listening to growing concerns on over development in Labour's core constituencies. Reporting by James Debono Controversial elderly home decision scheduled for 14 May The site falls within an Agricultural Area, a Valley Protection Zone and an Area of Ecological Importance and Scientific Importance protected under the South Malta Local Plan Median incomes among older women have risen significantly over the past decade