Cap. 318 Art. 98Payments.

(1) Where any person is entitled to any pension, benefit, allowance or assistance under this Act, payment shall be made -

(a) at the Department or at such other place or in such manner as the Director may from time to time determine; and

(b) in the case of -

(i) a Marriage Grant, Injury Grant or Maternity

Benefit, as soon as possible after the claim has been determined;

(ii) Sickness, Injury, Unemployment and Special Unemployment Benefits, or social assistance in respect of unemployment, in arrears at such intervals as the Director may from time to time determine; sohowever that, where a claim for Sickness Benefit is made while the person concerned is temporarily abroad, payment of such benefit shall be made in arrears in one lump sum as early as possible after the person returns to Malta;

(iii) any pension, social or medical assistances, in advance at such intervals (being intervals not longer than five weeks) as the Director may from time to time determine, but whenever the rates are increased the difference between the new rates and the old rates may be paid in advance at intervals not exceeding twenty-six weeks from the date when the rates are increased; and

(iv) a Supplementary Allowance, Children’s Allowances, Care allowance and a Disabled Child Allowance, in advance at such intervals (being intervals not longer than fourteen weeks) as the Director may, from time to time, determine: Provided that, subject to the provisions of article 90, with effect from the 5th January 2008, in the case of the Fixed Children’s Allowance, in advance at such intervals, being intervals of not longer than 53 weeks, as the Director may from time to time determine.

(2) Where the day on which a person becomes entitled to a pension, including Widow’s Benefit, allowance or assistance or becomes entitled to any of them at a new rate, is not a Saturday, with effect from the 15th October, 1977, entitlement to such pension, allowance or assistance and/or its new rate shall, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Act, accrue only as from the following Saturday, and, where the day on which a person ceases to be entitled to any of them, or being so entitled, dies, is not a Friday, payment shall be made in respect of the whole week which ends on the following Friday: Provided that, notwithstanding the provisions of this sub-article, with effect from the 1st January 2016, entitlement to a Pension under Part V shall accrue as from the day following the day on which a person retires, and entitlement to a Pension under Part IV shall accrue as from the day following the date of the death of the spouse who is entitled to a Pension under Part V.

(3) Any payments made in advance in accordance with sub-article (1)(b)(iii) and (iv) shall still be deemed to have been due to the beneficiary notwithstanding the fact that, during the period falling between the date of such payment and the date on which such payment expires in terms of sub-article (2), there has been a change in circumstances which would otherwise have adversely affected the rate of such payment forthwith in terms of the other provisions of this Act.

(4) Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Act, any claim for the payment of any benefit, pension, assistance or allowance under this Act shall not be paid in arrears for a period exceeding six months, as the Director may determine, if the assessment or re-assessment or the continued payment of such a claim was held back as a result of the non-observance of the provisions of article 97(1)(b) on the part of the claimant.

(5) Where any benefit, pension, assistance or allowance under this Act is paid following the advice of the Department’s medical panel and multi-disciplinary panel, where applicable, in accordance with the proviso to article 106, if this advice is subsequently changed following a advice of the previous medical panel and multi-disciplinary panel, where applicable, shall remain valid till the day when the aforesaid advice is changed.

(6) Where payment for any benefit, pension, assistance or allowance under this Act is not obtained by the beneficiary within 2 years from the date of the issue of the original cheque, the right for such benefit, pension, assistance or allowance shall be lost.