ACT No. IX of 2013 An Act to amend the Social Security Act (Cap. 318).

I assent.

G EORGE A BELA

(L.S.)

President

23rd July, 2013

ACT No. IX of 2013

An Act to amend the Social Security Act (Cap. 318).

BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament

assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

The short title of this Act is the Social Security Short title.

(Amendment) Act, 2013, and this Act shall be read and construed as

one with the Social Security Act hereinafter referred to as the Cap. 318.

"principal Act".

In article 2 of the principal Act, the definition "Service Amendment of

article 2 of the

Pension" shall be amended as follows

principal Act.

(a) paragraph (ix) thereof shall be renumbered as

paragraph (x); and

(b) immediately after paragraph (viii) thereof, there

shall be added the following new paragraph

"(ix) with effect from the 5th January 2013, for the

purpose of calculating the rate of a pension under this Act,

a service pension net of another two hundred euro (€200);

and".

Article 5 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows

(a) for the words "insurable employment." there shall be

substituted the words "insurable employment:" and

(b) immediately thereafter, there shall be added the following

"Provided that, with effect from the 5th January 2013, the

provisions of this paragraph shall also not apply where the

disabled person entered into marriage on or before the 6th of

January 2007.".

Article 16 of the principal Act shall be amended as

(a)

paragraph (c) of sub-article (2) thereof shall be

substituted by the following

(c) any citizen of Malta who goes abroad as a

volunteer worker on projects in the areas of human welfare

and development and environmental protection which are

recognized as such by the Minister in advance, for any

period during which he is performing such volunteer work

and has not yet reached pension age; sohowever that, for

this purpose, any such number of credited contributions

shall in no case exceed an aggregate of 260 in any period

of 10 years in such volunteer work, provided that

(i) where any such volunteer work as

aforesaid in this paragraph was performed between

the 5th January, 1981 and the 6th January, 1991 the

foregoing provisions of this paragraph shall also

apply if the Minister is satisfied that the projects on

which such volunteer work was performed were

restricted to the areas aforesaid in this paragraph;

sohowever that any credited contributions that have

to be awarded in accordance with the foregoing

provisions of this paragraph shall cover

consecutive periods starting from the 6th January,

1991 backwards;

(ii) where any such volunteer work is

carried out in Malta or abroad, by young persons

who have not yet reached 25 years of age, the

maximum number of weeks in credited

contributions shall be awarded for a maximum

period of 260 weeks in so far as the young person

returned in insurable employment or self-

occupation for a period of not less than five

years.";

(b) paragraph (d) of sub-article (2) thereof shall be

substituted by the following

"(d) the father or the mother, who have attained

the age of eighteen years and born on or after the 1st

January 1952, has the legal care and custody of a child who

has not attained the age of six years, or the age of ten years

in the case of a child who has been certified by a medical

consultant as suffering, during the period for which the

credit is being requested, from a serious disability

Provided that the sum total of such credited

contributions which may be given with regard of each

child to a parent or to both parents together shall not

exceed 52 contributions in any period of one year where

the parent was born between 1st January 1952 and 31st

December 1961, and shall not exceed 104 contributions in

any period of two years where the parent was born on or

after 1st January 1962

Provided further that in the case of a parent who, to

the satisfaction of the Director, presents a certificate from a

medical consultant of a child suffering from a serious

disability during such period for which credits are

requested, the sum total of such credited contributions that

may be awarded in respect of each and every such child

shall not exceed 104 contributions in any period of two

years where the parent was born between 1st January 1952

and 31st December 1961, and shall not exceed 208

contributions in any period of four years where the parent

was born on or after 1st January 1962

Provided also that such credits shall only be

awarded insofar as, prior to the pension age, such father or

mother, as the case may be, resumes gainful occupation for

a minimum period equivalent to that period for which such

number of credits would have been awarded; sohowever

that, in the event of the death of any such parent, such

credits shall still be awarded notwithstanding that

minimum period."; and

(c) paragraph (a) of sub-article (3) thereof shall be

substituted by the following

"(a) for any calendar week for each day of which

in terms of articles 18, 28 and 30 he is entitled to Sickness

Benefit, or Injury Benefit, or Unemployment Benefit, or

Special Unemployment Benefit, or for any calendar week

during which he is entitled to Invalidity Pension, Increased

Invalidity Pension or, prior to reaching pension age, a

National Minimum Pension under article 26, or for any

calendar week during which he is entitled to a Carer’s

Pension under article 68 and at any time prior to his

becoming entitled to a Carer’s Pension as aforesaid in this

paragraph was employed in insurable employment or was

self-occupied and immediately prior to his becoming

entitled to such Carer’s Pension had -

(i)

paid a total of 156 contributions; and

(ii) paid or been credited with an average of

at least 20 contributions per annum; since attaining

his 18th birthday

Sohowever that, with effect from the 5th January

2013, the provisions of this sub-article shall also apply to

persons who are not entitled to a Carers’ Pension who fail

to satisfy the conditions of Part IV of the Second Schedule

of this Act but fulfil the criteria stipulated by the

provisions of article 106(a), and to persons who are

entitled to Social Assistance under article 30(8);".

Article 40 of the principal Act shall be amended as

(a)

in sub-article (1) thereof, for the words "sub-article

(2)", there shall be substituted the words "sub-article (3)";

(b) sub-article (2) thereof shall be renumbered as sub-

article (3); and

(c)

immediately after sub-article (1) thereof, there shall

be added the following new sub-article

"(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-article (1),

with effect from the 5th January 2013, a widow who

remarried before 6th January 2007 and lost her right to a

widows’ pension, will be entitled to a widows’ pension at a

weekly rate equivalent to the rate of Widows Pension

specified in the Twelfth Schedule, or, in the case were the

rate is assessed under article 42A, such rate as is

apportioned under such article, as was applicable in her

case until the date of her remarriage in terms of articles 31

or 33.".

Article 61A of the principal Act shall be substituted by the Substitution of

article 61A of

following

the principal

Act.

"61A. The pensionable income of a person born before the

1st January, 1962 who becomes entitled to a pension in respect

of retirement or invalidity in accordance with this Act and who

had accepted to partake of an early retirement scheme after 1st

January 2008 in anticipation of the privatization or as a part of

the process of restructuring of an entity in which the

Government, at the time when such person accepted to take up

early retirement, was the owner or the majority shareholder,

shall be that specified in the Thirteenth Schedule, or the

pensionable income which would have otherwise resulted in

accordance with the provisions of this Act, had that person’s last

day of employment following the acceptance of the early

retirement arrangement been the date of retirement or invalidity,

whichever pensionable income is the higher.".

Sub-article (4) of article 93 of the principal Act shall be Amendment of

article 93 of the

substituted by the following

principal Act.

"(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of this article, where

a resident of a State Financed Residential Service that is a state-

owned hostel for the care and welfare of persons with disability

referred to in article 131A is a married person whose spouse is

not such a resident, and is not in receipt of a benefit, pension,

bonus, assistance or allowance payable under this Act in the

spouse’s own right, 60% of the rate of benefit, pension, bonus,

assistance or allowance which would have otherwise been

payable to such resident shall be payable to the spouse who is

not a resident

Provided that, with effect from the 5th January 2013, 70%

of the rate of benefit, pension, bonus, assistance or allowance

which would have otherwise been payable to such resident. or

the rate of Age Pension for a single person in accordance with

the Sixth Schedule, shall be payable to the spouse who is not a

resident, whichever is the most beneficial.".

In paragraph 4 of Part V of the Second Schedule to the Amendment of

principal Act, for the words "where the marriage was entered into the

Schedule to the

after the 6th January 2007." there shall be substituted the words principal Act.

"where the marriage was entered into after the 6th January 2007:",

and immediately thereafter there shall be added the following new

sub-paragraph

"Sohowever that, with effect from the 5th January, 2013,

the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply where the

marriage was entered into before the 6th January 2007.".

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 54 of 17th

July, 2013.

A NĠLU F ARRUGIA

Speaker

R AYMOND S CICLUNA

Clerk to the House of Representatives