Some 389,000 eligible Macao residents will be receiving a payment of 7,000 patacas towards their pension from the government, which will be deposited into their Central Provident Fund accounts, the Social Security Fund announced in a statement published yesterday.
The government department, which is also known by its Portuguese initials FSS, stated that the payments will be automatically made to the accounts from 25 September. It also noted that around 183,000 individuals were not included on the list as they did not meet the requirements.
As well, 9,178 residents were deemed eligible for a one time payment of 10,000 patacas, which is given to those who are receiving the retirement payment for the first time.
At an event held yesterday, FSS told local media that a total of 2.8 billion patacas was being spent on the payments this year.
[See more: Eligible residents are to get 7000 patacas towards their retirement]
“As of now, the SAR government has invested a total of 31.8 billion patacas [into the Central Provident Fund System], which includes the allocation this year,” said vice president of the FSS’s administrative committee, Chan Pou Wan. “If a Macao resident were to receive an allocation each year [since the start of the program in 2010], their respective account will have a total as high as 84,000 patacas. If an interest of 16,814 patacas is included, an account could already have funds as high as 100,814 patacas.”
This year marks the resumption of the government-led scheme, which was suspended from 2020 onwards, as the government faced three years of budget deficits during the pandemic.
The Central Provident Fund is part of the SAR government’s wealth-sharing programs that include the wealth partaking scheme, as well as water, electricity and healthcare subsidies. Residents are unable to withdraw the funds from the pension until they have reached 65 or satisfy certain criteria if they are below the threshold.
Residents can check if they are included in this round of the cash injection by visiting the FSS website. Those who are not deemed eligible can also submit an objection statement in person at FSS or through their Macao One Account.
