Group urges continued investment by gov’t in central provident fund

A group of four representatives of the New Democratic Macau Association has urged the local government to maintain its investment in the city’s non-mandatory Central Provident Fund in 2021.
Earlier this year, the Macau SAR government announced that, in 2021, the government will not invest in the Fund.
The city’s non-mandatory provident fund distributes 7,000 patacas per year to senior residents. In the wake of the government’s announcement, the city’s seniors and people with disabilities are concerned that their actual income next year will be reduced.
On Friday, the association delivered a letter to the Chief Executive urging the government authority to continue its investment.
“This decision is severely impacting seniors who have made magnificent contributions to Macau’s economic development,” the group wrote in the letter.
According to the association, the non-mandatory provident fund is an indispensable part of the seniors’ pension, and, without the 7,000 patacas per year, local seniors’ lives would suffer.
The association argued that the amount of Macau’s retirement pension is low and far below the basic livelihood maintenance index. The organization hopes that retirement benefits for seniors will not be “unreasonably cut.”
“Has the SAR government made careful consideration when making this decision?” the group questioned.
“A government that owns 654 billion patacas is actually using the excuse of ‘the financial budget does not allow’ to reduce the pension amount, which seniors rely on. No matter what, [the decision] can’t be justified,” the letter wrote.
The association says that the SAR government should reconsider the relevant question and should at least allow seniors aged above 65 years to continue receiving the pension next year.
As of June, in 2020, a total of 377,747 local residents were eligible to receive 7,000 patacas from the non-mandatory provident fund. JZ