Budget 2025: One-Time Payment Of €1,500 To Be Granted To Parents Having Third Child
A one-time payment of €1,500 will be given to parents having their third child, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced in this evening’s 2025 Budget speech.
This allowance complements the already existing €500 allowance for parents’ first child and the €1,000 allowance for their second.
This measure intends to combat Malta’s concerningly low birth rate which remains the lowest in the European Union. Another incentive involves the increase in leave hours for couples who opt for IVF treatment to have a child. Parents will be eligible for 100 hours of leave with the mother receiving the treatment able to claim 60 hours and her partner eligible for the remaining 40.
Meanwhile, Caruana announced that the marriage allowance will increase by €170, meaning spouses will receive €500 each for getting married.
Pensions are also a significant topic in next year’s budget. They are rising by €8 a week when COLA (€5.24) is included. Pensioners will effectively gain €416 per year. Similarly, widowers will see an additional €3 per week increase in addition to the €8 rise.
The tax-free exemption on 60% of pensioners working income will increase to 80% to incentivise people to remain in the workforce.
People who weren’t able to qualify for a pension because they did not pay enough National Insurance will receive a €1,000 bonus if they paid nine years’ worth of NI. This is an increase from the current €600. The bonus will be proportionally reduced for those with fewer NI payments. There are around 16,000 people in this situation, the majority of which are married women.
READ NEXT: Moviment Graffitti Disrupts Budget Speech, Throws Memes At Parliament In Protest Against 'Developers’ Dictatorship'
