Cassola vows to fight ageism if elected to EP

Independent candidate Arnold Cassola yesterday said that, if elected to the European Parliament, he would make use of all European laws to challenge ageism in Malta, including discrimination among pensioners.

Cassola has continuously flagged discrimination among pensioners caused by an anomaly in the way pensions are calculated depending on whether a person was born before or after 1962.

Up until 2023, every week, a pensioner born before 1962 could receive up to €82 less than a pensioner born after 1962.

Cassola said that, “despite being initially called a liar by Minister Michael Falzon”, the government has acknowledged the anomaly and this year started compensating some pensioners born before 1962.

As of 2024, around 10,000 pensioners started receiving an extra €9.47 a week, he said.

Cassola explained that only those who had paid the highest class of social security contribution (Class D) during their working days were receiving this extra pay. The highest earners pay the highest social security contributions.

The rest ‒ some 60,000 people born before 1962 and who paid the lower contributions (Classes, A, B and C) ‒ received nothing.

“The risk of a good number of these falling below the poverty line is big. The 2024 cost of living cannot be handled with a 2000 pension,” Cassola said, adding that this initiative had created another layer of discrimination among pre-1962 pensioners.

Cassola welcomed the Pensioners Association’s call on the government to rectify pension differences.

The MEP hopeful believes there could be “room for a class action” on the issue.

“On my part, if elected to the European Parliament, I will make use of all European laws available to try and remove all discrimination based on age in our country,” he added.