The Community Care Action Group has said that the Community Officer allowance, household cost allowance and state pension “should not be means tested” adding that the  “collective confusing mess” of different state benefits in Gibraltar is intended to “keep state pensions low.”

A spokesperson told the press: “The main aim of the above total payments, to Gibraltar citizens in retirement, is to provide the senior citizens enough money to be comfortable in their old age.

“In Gibraltar, successive governments have been using different approaches towards its citizens’ retirement.

“We currently have a variety of schemes, which when combined, are designed to provide an average retirement income that does not attract tax.

“State retirement age in Gibraltar is currently 60 for females and 65 for males, notwithstanding that life expectancy is 83 for females and 79 for males, a life expectancy/state pension difference of 23 years for females and 14 years for males.

“Not only do males receive their state pension later, but they die younger. A clear gender discrimination.

“For the last 33 years this recognised gender difference, was partly addressed by the introduction of a social wage for men aged 60-65, known today as the community officer (CO) allowance; notwithstanding that females receive their state pensions (SP) and the household cost allowance (HCA) (single person’s HCA) at age 60, the community officer allowance is/was introduced to compensate males from age 60 till they reach state retirement age at 65.

“The community officers’ scheme is not money for nothing, it is an alternative to the gender equalisation of state pensions and the community also benefit from the community officers’ work experience in the diverse economy.

“There are murmurs of means testing, yet there are earnings tiers within the community officer allowance which have hardly changed since its introduction. These tiers have not been increased to keep pace with the increases to cost of living and inflation, so had the tiers increased, more and more males would be eligible to receive this allowance.

“The Community Care Action Group strongly believes that the community officer allowance is a stop gap measure for state pension gender equality and that it should not be means tested as state pensions are not means tested.

“I have prepared some comparisons below which highlight the differences.

I am assuming that the persons have worked all the required years and have had all the weekly contributions paid. (2,250 over working life for men and 2,000 over working life for women) – again a disparity between males and females, but the difference is believed to be to allow females periods of childbirth and nurturing (250 weeks). I am going to compare amounts annually.

- males 60-65 - Community Officer Allowance - monthly = £511.97 annually £6,143.64

- males 65+ - state pension paid monthly (£473.50) - annually = £5,682.00

- males 65+ - joint household cost allowance (£1,104.00 paid quarterly) -  annually = £4,416.00 proportionately 50% = £2,208.00 or males 65+ - single household cost allowance (£736.00 paid quarterly) – annually = £2,944.00

- females 60+ - state pension paid monthly (£473.50) - annually = £5,682.00

- females 60+ joint household cost allowance (£1,104.00 paid quarterly) -  annually = £4,416.00 proportionately 50% = £2,208.00 or females 60+ single household cost allowance (£736.00 paid quarterly) - annually = £2,944.00
- at age 60 – 65  males get £6,143.64 annually for (CO) (£511.97 a month)  females get £5,682.00 annually for (SP), (£473.50 a month) & females get £2,944.00 annually for single (HCA) (£736 a quarter) so, between 60-65 the annual difference between males and females is... Males total: £6,143.64, females total: £8,626.00 - an annual difference of £2,482.36 without the females having to do any community officer work.

“So, the (CO) would need to actually increase by £206.86 a month for males to receive the same retirement benefit as females during years 60-65 males should be getting £718.83 a month instead of the co allowance of £511.97

"And Government want to restrict it further – I don’t think so.

“It all equalises at age 65+

"At age 65+ a married man in retirement gets the equivalent of £657.50 a month {(SP) & (half joint HCA)} £7,890.00 annually a single man in retirement gets the equivalent of £718.83 a month {(SP) & (single HCA)} £8,626.00 annually

“At age 65+ a married woman in retirement gets the equivalent of £657.50 a month {(SP & (half joint HCS)} £7,890.00 annually a single woman in retirement gets the equivalent of £718.83 a month {(SP) & (single HCA)} £8,626.00 annually

“At age 65+ therefore, a married couple get £5,682.00 & £5,682.00 & £4,416.00 = £15,354.00 annually or the monthly equivalent of £1,279.50 a single person gets £5,682.00 & £2,944.00 = £8,626.00 annually or the monthly equivalent of £718.83

“In most countries, the state pensions are funded by the social security contributions paid by persons in business or employment.

“As an example, in Germany a married couple receive a state pension (SP) of 1,961 euros monthly. (at today’s rate of exchange quoted as 1.16 euros to GBP) = £1,690.52 monthly a single man a (SP) of 1,404 euros monthly (at today’s rate of exchange quoted as 1.16 euros to GBP) = £1,210.34 a single woman a (SP) of 1,388 euros monthly (at today’s rate of exchange quoted as 1.16 euros to gbp) = £1,196.55

“In the U.K a (SP) of £179.60 per person per week, the equivalent of £778.26 monthly per person, which is £1,556.52 monthly per couple.

“As a comparison with Gibraltar (in which I am including HCA & state pension together)

“A married couple in Germany get the equivalent (SP) of (at today’s rate of exchange quoted as 1.16 euros to GBP) = £20,286.20 per year. A couple in the U.K get a (SP) of £18,678.24 per year. A married couple in Gibraltar get (SP & HCA) = £15,354.00 per year

“It is clear that both the employer and the employee contributions towards the state pension fund are very out of synchronisation with the requirement to fund it. Social insurance payments and benefits need to be reviewed.

“You may have heard the Government’s argument that the community officer scheme is funded by receipts of import duty. This is irrelevant. All Government receipts go into the Government’s consolidated fund and the government apportion the votes of money to cover all their expenditure and commitments, they decide what goes where.

“The main concern that we have as a group is that the community officer and household cost allowance and state pension must not be means tested as they collectively form our combined state pension.

“Persons in receipt of high incomes or business profits, are dealt with through income tax and as these persons will have contributed towards the community officer and household cost allowance and state pension, they should be eligible to receive it tax free. As the rest of us.”