When we arrived in Malta and formed our company, we had many documents to sign. Among them were those which required us to pay our national insurance stamps. By the time we reached the official pensionable age, we had paid our fair share of contributions.
As I approached my 62nd year, the government in Malta wanted to know exactly what I received from abroad in the form of a pension. Malta and the U.K. had an agreement on these contributions. I immediately let them know the amount of my British state pension and they asked if there was any other payment I received from other sources. I declared that I had a ‘superannuation’ payment which was an extra contribution I paid each month while I was a teacher in England. This was supposed to be paid over and above the state pension to add to my income after retirement.
In Malta the pension office grouped the two together, deducted it from the amount I would have normally received in Malta, and I ended up with a pittance for a pension as well as being taxed on this meagre sum as I was still managing director of Elanguest. I was assured by many in the know that this was illegal as the Teacher’s Superannuation scheme was a private one and had nothing to do with the state pension.
I checked with various people in government, and I even wrote to the Deputy Prime Minister who broached the subject in Brussels.
I found out from a friend that the ex-service men in Malta who had worked for some time in the U.K., had a similar problem and had employed lawyers to take their case to Brussels. My friend assured me that the case was well underway and that a decision was to be taken by the EU in February. The day came and the local newspaper stated that the EU had turned down the request and the overdue money was not to be paid.
I felt deeply upset as a large sum of money was involved and I no longer had a monthly income from my company. Ursula and I discussed this, and both agreed that it was a very heavy blow but God was in control and knew what was best. That seemed to be the end of a long saga as far as we were concerned.
Imagine my surprise and joy when I received a note from a lady in the Government pensions office whom we had approached some months before. I was assured the full back payment was to be paid in three monthly instalments and that my monthly pension would be increased to the proper amount.
I cannot tell you the joy we both felt and how our faith grew as we realized that God sees to every detail of our lives.