Having 100,000 workers adhering to the non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund scheme is for now the government’s benchmark. “Our aim is to implement this scheme as soon as possible as to guarantee the rights of retired workers. Given that this is a non-mandatory scheme, it’s hard to make a forecast in terms of the number of workers it could take in. 100,000 is for now our benchmark”, said the President Social Welfare Bureau.
If the non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund scheme is passed in the Assembly, employers could be given the option of entering workers in either a private or a central provident scheme. As of now 11,000 workers are believed to have subscribed to private pension funds in Macau, a scheme which could soon see some changes.
Iong Kong Io, the President of the Social Welfare Bureau, said that the introduction of a mandatory scheme would be ideal, but warned of possible pressure on local employers, particularly during the SAR’s current economic outlook. Reviewing the scheme’s viability in some years’ time would be the preferred course of action, said Iong Kong Io.
According to the government’s proposal, contributions to the fund include joint schemes through both the employer, as well as individual contributions schemes made by the employee. As for the joint contribution, the proposal suggests that both employers and employees provide a minimum of five per cent each of the employee’s monthly salary. In regards to the personal contribution scheme, the minimum amount is expected to be set at 500 patacas per month.
(Macau News / TDM)
