A retired couple sits on a bench in Mellieħa with a pastizz and a view of Gozo, and the question they ask is not about the view: it is whether their pension will still arrive, and who will tax it. If you retire in Malta with a clear plan, the answer is reassuring, and the 2026 change in pension tax makes it more so. The rest of the plan depends on where your pension comes from.
Can you retire in Malta with a foreign pension or a state pension abroad?
Yes, and a state pension abroad is normal in the EU. Under European coordination rules, each country where you worked pays you a part of your pension, calculated on the years you spent there, and your insurance periods in the whole of the EU are taken into account. You receive from each country the more favourable of the pro-rata calculation and its national pension, in general paid into a bank account in your country of residence. Some countries pay nothing for less than a year of insurance, but those months still count for the others.
Before you leave, ask for a career statement in every country where you worked, the S1 from your health insurer if your pension comes from your home country, and an EHIC for your first months. Tell every pension fund your new address and country so that payments are not suspended.
What are the steps to settle as a retiree?
- Register your residence with Identità if you stay more than three months; see the eResidence card guide. Without a job, you need health insurance (the S1 counts) and sufficient resources.
- Register your S1 with the Entitlement Unit to access public care, as in healthcare in Malta for expats.
- Have your pension paid in Malta, to an account described in opening a bank account in Malta.
- Claim your pension where you live or where you last worked. If you never worked in Malta, the Maltese service passes your claim to the country where you last worked, which collects your career from all countries.
- Register for tax if you become tax resident, using the expatriates form described in social security and tax numbers in Malta, and check with an adviser where each pension is taxable under the treaty.
Is your pension taxed in Malta? The exemption from age 61
This is the headline. Under the Pensions (Tax Exemption) Rules, as amended by Legal Notice 53 of 2026, 100% of pension income is exempt from tax, up to €37,104 a year, for income received in 2026 and later years, if you are at least 61 in the year you receive it. The earlier years had a phased exemption, from 20% up to €2,864 for 2022 income to 80% up to €13,309 for 2025 income.
The exemption covers pension income that Malta would otherwise tax under article 4(1)(d) of the Income Tax Act: social security, civil service, foreign, occupational or private pensions, with no condition on domicile. For a non-domiciled resident, a foreign pension is taxable in Malta only if it is received in Malta, and then it benefits from the exemption (unless you hold permanent residence, which makes foreign income taxable even if it stays abroad). Your other income stays taxed at the scale: 0% up to €12,000 for a single person and €15,000 on the married scale. For the 2027 assessment year and after, a retiree on the married scale who benefits from the exemption also gets a tax rebate of 15% of chargeable income above €15,000, capped at €540, which cancels the tax on up to €18,600 of other income.
Your home country may still have the right to tax some pensions under the treaty, often public-sector pensions. The framework is in tax in Malta for new residents.
What if you also worked in Malta?
The Maltese pension age depends on your birth year: 62 for 1952 to 1955, 63 for 1956 to 1958, 64 for 1959 to 1961, and 65 for those born after 1961. You can retire at 61 if you no longer work, with 35 years of paid contributions (born 1952 to 1961), 40 (1962 to 1968), 41 (1969 to 1975) or 42 (from 1976), according to the Department of Social Security. You need at least 10 years of contributions, and a full pension asks for an average of 50 weekly contributions a year. In 2026 every pension rose by €10 a week. If you keep working past pension age without claiming, your pension grows by 6.5% to 29% depending on how long you wait. The non-contributory Age Pension is means-tested, starts at 60 and is reserved by the Social Security Act to Maltese citizens living in Malta, so do not count on it.
Should you choose the Malta Retirement Programme?
The Malta Retirement Programme taxes the pension remitted to Malta at 15%, with a minimum annual tax of €7,500 plus €500 per dependant, a qualifying home, and conditions of presence. With the new 100% exemption for pensions from age 61, compare both options carefully: the programme only makes sense with large foreign income remitted to Malta, and the minimum tax is due even if your income is small. See the Malta residence programme guide.
Before you choose, ask the bodies that pay your pensions how a move to Malta affects them, and have a Maltese tax adviser check where each pension is taxed under your treaty. The answer depends on the type of pension and on your country.
What does retirement in Malta look like day to day?
Retirement in Malta has a rhythm that suits a slower life. Winters are mild, while summers are hot and humid, which makes a ventilated or air-conditioned home worth paying for. English is an official language, so you can handle your paperwork and your doctor's appointments in English. Buses and ferries link the islands, and Gozo is a short ferry ride away. Our guides to daily life in Malta and living in Gozo describe the pace of each island.
The practical side matters as much as the lifestyle. Choose your home with your health and mobility in mind. Rental law gives you strong protection once the lease is registered (see renting in Malta), and buying as a retiree follows the property rules in buying property in Malta.
What documents should you bring to retire in Malta?
Bring a valid ID or passport, your Maltese residence card once you have it, the original S1 and a photocopy, career statements from each country, proof of your pension payments, and the details of a bank account in Malta or the EU. If you rely on private cover instead of an S1, bring the policy and check that it matches Identità's definition of comprehensive insurance.
What are the common mistakes?
- Forgetting the S1. Without it, no free public care if you do not contribute in Malta.
- Assuming the Maltese exemption settles everything. Your home country may keep the right to tax a pension.
- Choosing the programme without a calculation.
- Not telling your pension funds about your move.
- Counting on the non-contributory Age Pension, which the law reserves to Maltese citizens.
What changes with your passport?
Swiss pensioners follow the same coordination rules, with a Swiss S1 accepted by the Entitlement Unit. For the Malta-Switzerland treaty, a private or occupational pension is taxable only in Malta if you live there, while a public pension paid by the Confederation, a canton or a municipality for public service generally stays taxable in Switzerland alone; have AVS pensions checked by an adviser. British retirees can register a UK S1 or use the reciprocal health agreement certificate, their UK State Pension is uprated each year in Malta as in the rest of the EEA, and whether UK and EU insurance periods are added together should be confirmed with the International Pension Centre. See moving to Malta from the UK.