Welfare System under Fire as 7,969 Disability Pensions Halted within 2 Years

The Social Security system has returned to the spotlight following a series of disclosures made in the National Assembly. Nearly 8,000 disability pensions were halted over a two-year period, triggering fresh scrutiny of the state welfare system, a government minister has revealed.

In a written response to a parliamentary question from Dr Aumeer, the Minister of Social Integration, Social Security, and National Solidarity, Ashok Subron, indicated that a total of 7,969 beneficiaries of the Basic Invalid’s Pension had their allocations interrupted between 2024 and 2025.

Data presented to Parliament by Minister Subron shows that 4,168 pensions were terminated in 2024, followed by a further 3,801 terminations in 2025.

Concurrently, the total headcount of active pension recipients shrank from 31,904 in 2024 to 31,262 in 2025.

Reasons for Termination

The Minister explained that several factors lead to the cessation of disability payments.

Key reasons include:

• Beneficiaries no longer meeting established medical criteria
• The expiration of temporary award periods
• Failure to attend scheduled medical reviews before the Medical Board
• The death of the pensioner
• Going abroad for a period exceeding six months
• Transitioning onto the standard retirement pension

Minister Subron further clarified that applications from individuals suffering from long-term chronic illnesses, acquired disabilities, or congenital disorders are not assessed solely on the diagnosis itself.

Instead, eligibility is determined by the specific degree of incapacity associated with the medical condition.

Rejection figures linked to these specific long-term conditions rose from 44 cases in 2024 to 72 in 2025.

Overall, the system logged 10,064 new applications in 2024 and 9,795 in 2025.

System Reform Awaits Funding

The parliamentary disclosure also highlighted that the medical guidelines currently used to assess beneficiaries have not been updated since 2016.

Minister Subron confirmed that a comprehensive overhaul of the disability pension framework is currently being prepared.

The planned changes form the first phase of a broader reform of the overall disability pension mechanism.

The legislative and structural dossier is now understood to be awaiting final approval from the Ministry of Finance before it can be implemented.

Source: Defi Media