Social security subsidies to increase in July

The Social Security Committee of the Social Security Fund (FSS) announced an increase in all social security pensions and subsidy payments, during a meeting held by the Committee for the Co-ordination of Social Affairs (CPCS). Pensions for the disabled and for the elderly will increase by MOP100 to MOP3,450 per month, Macao Daily News reported.
Relief payments will be set to MOP2,266 per month, while one-time payments will see an average growth of 3 percent, a smaller increase to the previous adjustment. In case of unemployment or sickness, eligible residents will receive a daily subsidy of MOP138 and MOP104 respectively, values slightly above the preceding MOP134 and MOP101. Birth, marriage and funeral subsidies will increase, in the same order, from MOP1,900, MOP1,900, and MOP2,460 to MOP1,957, MOP1957, and MOP2,534 respectively. The FSS estimates that an extra MOP55 million will be allocated after the adjustments take effect between July and December of this year.
Regarding the payment ratio of the welfare contributions between the employer and employee, Iong Kong Io, president of the FSS, said that “a comprehensive analytical report on the economy and employment relationships will be delivered in the second half of this year.”
These measures come after legislator Leong Weng Chai filed an inquiry to the AL last year questioning “if the new regulation will also be applied to all workers that are included in the law No. 15/2009, and if the government will treat all pensioners the same under the Article 25 of the Basic Law.”  Staff reporter