Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai said yesterday his government will improve the system for its annual wealth-sharing programme in terms of aspects such as its eligibility of beneficiaries and ways of distributing the handouts and that it is studying how to improve the system benefitting Macau residents in line with opinions raised by various segments of civil society, with the aim of achieving a higher level of fairness and more precisely benefitting Macau residents with closer ties with the city.
Speaking during a post-policy address press conference at Government Headquarters, the chief executive said that his government will now continue to gather opinions from civil society concerning improvements to the system for its annual wealth-sharing programme before finalising the design of the improved system, because of which this year’s handouts will be issued a bit later than in previous years.
The press conference, which lasted one and a half hours, was held after Sam delivered his first policy address to the Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday afternoon. His 2025 Policy Address lasted two hours.
Sam said in his 2025 Policy Address that eligible permanent local residents will receive 10,000 patacas each this year, while eligible non-permanent local residents will receive 6,000 patacas each, with the amounts of the handouts for each beneficiary unchanged from last year.
Since the government’s annual wealth-sharing programme was launched in 2008, the cash handouts have been paid out to every ID card holder of Macau permanent and non-permanent residents, irrespective of place of birth, nationality, age, and current place of residence.
Permanent residency can be acquired after habitually living in Macau for seven consecutive years.
When the programme was rolled out in 2008, each permanent resident received 5,000 patacas while each non-permanent resident received 3,000 patacas. Since then, the amount had been gradually raised, before it was increased to the current amount of 10,000 patacas for permanent residents and 6,000 patacas for non-permanent residents in 2019.
Normally, the cash handouts have been paid out in July every year.
Since taking office in December last year, Sam has pledged that his government will adopt a more targeted approach in its policy of improving residents’ well-being, such as by more precisely helping those in need and allocating more welfare resources to the elderly, children, those with disabilities, and others in vulnerable groups.
Delivering his 2025 Policy Address in the legislature’s hemicycle yesterday, Sam reaffirmed that his government should implement social welfare measures in a sustainable way, pointing out that Macau’s economic outlook is currently facing various uncertainties, with the government’s heavy reliance on a single source of its revenues and a large sum of its annual regular and fixed expenditures.
Consequently, Sam said, the government should make better use of its financial resources to implement targeted social welfare measures with the aim of more precisely helping those in need.
Sam said in his 2025 Policy Address that after considering Macau’s current socioeconomic conditions and on the premise of adhering to prudent public financial management, his government will continue with its various tax deductions and social welfare measures this year.
However, Sam said, the government will improve the system for its annual wealth-sharing programme in line with opinions raised by various segments of civil society, adding that the government will then use the money that it can save thanks to lower expenditure on its wealth-sharing programme resulting from its improved system to enhance various other social welfare measures and promote the development of Macau’s community economy.
During yesterday’s press conference, Sam was asked how his government planned to improve the system for its wealth-sharing programme. He said that the government has still not come up with its final decision on how the system should be improved, adding that government will continue to gather more opinions from civil society concerning improvements to the system.
Sam noted that the improvements will cover aspects such as eligibility of beneficiaries and ways of distributing the handouts, adding that the government’s decision to improve the operation of its wealth-sharing programme aims to achieve fairness of the programme as well as enabling the programme to only benefit those with close ties to Macau, and more precisely help those in need.
Sam pointed out that the local government rolled out the wealth-sharing programme in 2008 on a temporary basis aiming to help local residents as Macau was then affected by high inflation and the adverse impact of the global financial crisis on its economy. He noted that the government has spent 92.1 billion patacas in total on the handouts since the programme’s launch.
Sam noted that while the programme was launched on a temporary basis, in reality it has been implemented every year since its launch, pointing out that the government has been required to draw up an administrative regulation every year to implement the programme in the respective years.
Consequently, Sam pointed out, the government’s current wealth-sharing programme, in principle, is not a permanent and regular social welfare measure.
Sam noted that in previous years, the government normally completed drawing up an administrative regulation in April every year for the implementation of the programme in the run-up to the commencement of the payments normally in July. Sam said that for this year, as the government will improve the system for the programme, it will complete drawing up an administrative regulation (by-law) this time a bit later than normal in previous years. He asked residents to show understanding that this year the handouts will be issued a bit later than in previous years.
Meanwhile, Sam announced in his 2025 Policy Address that the government will increase the amounts of its various allowances for local residents.
New childcare allowance
Sam announced that the government will launch a childcare allowance for local residents with the aim of tackling the city’s low birth rate by supporting parents to take care of their children.
According to Sam, the new childcare allowance will be issued to parents of children under the age of three years every month. During the period, they will receive an allowance of 1,500 patacas a month, equivalent to 18,000 patacas a year.
In addition, Sam said, the government will increase its birth allowance, a one-off sum, to 6,500 patacas from the current 5,418 patacas, while the marriage allowance will be increased to 2,220 patacas from the current 2,122 patacas.
More cash for seniors, those with disabilities
Sam also announced that the monthly pension for senior citizens will increase to 3,900 patacas from the current 3,740 patacas, while the annual allowance for them, issued once a year, will be increased to 10,000 patacas from the current 9,000 patacas.
The annual subsidy for those with disabilities, issued by the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) once every year, will be increased to 10,000 patacas from the current 9,000 patacas for those with a lower level of disabilities, while the amount will be increased to 20,000 patacas from the current 18,000 patacas for those with a higher level of disabilities.
The annual health vouchers for permanent residents will be increased to 700 patacas from the current 600 patacas.
Subsidies for uni graduates working in GBA
Moreover, Sam said, the local government will launch a 5,000 pataca monthly subsidy for young locals up to the age of 35 who work in the Guangdong cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), lasting 18 months. The beneficiaries must have graduated from tertiary education institutions in Macau or elsewhere.
Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai speaks during yesterday evening’s post-policy press conference at Government Headquarters. – Photo: Tony Wong
Journalists raise their hands to ask questions during yesterday evening’s press conference at Government Headquarters in Nam Van about Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai’s 2025 Policy Address. – Photo: GCS
