The Social Security Fund (FSS) announced on Monday that the monthly dues paid by employers and employees will be increased from the current 45 patacas to 90 patacas from the beginning of next year, with the ratio that both sides contribute remaining unchanged at 1:2, despite a lack of consensus on the ratio.
Addressing a press conference at the fund’s office, FSS President Iong Kong Io said the dues would continue to be split 1:2 whereby employees will pay 30 patacas and employers 60 patacas a month, starting from January 1 next year.
The last time the dues were raised was in 1998, from the initial 30 patacas to 45 patacas.
The dues are currently split 1:2 whereby employees pay 15 patacas and employers pay 30 patacas per month. The fund currently pays residents aged 65 or above a pension of 3,450 patacas a month.
Iong pointed out that the government injected 37 billion patacas into the fund between 2013 and this year, adding that this was enough for the fund to operate for about 50 years, and nothing needed to be added in the near future.
According to Iong, the fund’s assets are set to stand at 68 billion patacas at the end of the year.
Iong said the business and labour sector members of the Standing Council on Social Concerted Action agreed on the 90 patacas amount per month. However, they clashed over the ratio employers and employees should contribute, Iong admitted. While the labour sector suggested that the ratio remain unchanged at 1:2, the business sector proposed that the ratio be changed to 1:1 when the monthly dues are increased to 90 patacas.
The Standing Council on Social Concerted Action is an advisory body to the chief executive on the formulation of labour policies. It comprises representatives from the government, the Macau Chamber of Commerce (ACM) and Macau Federation of Trade Unions.
Apart from the dues paid by employers and employees and the capital injections by the government, the fund also receives a three per cent appropriation from the gaming industry’s gross revenue and a one per cent allocation of the government’s recurrent budget income.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
