Tam made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of a day nursery run by the Macau Women’s General Association (commonly known as Fu Luen) in Fai Chi Kei.
Tam pointed out that Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On places special emphasis on the improvement of residents’ livelihoods. As the local economy continued to be improving, there was a need to improve residents’ livelihoods, Tam said.
Tam also said that the government’s social welfare budget for next year would rise by 14 percent, adding that government spending on education and medical services for next year will also increase. He did not specify how much the government’s expenditure on social welfare would be in 2018.
Tam noted that next year senior citizens will receive benefits worth 5,820 patacas per month, consisting of a raft of subsidies, allowances and other welfare benefits for the elderly, adding he believed that the city’s elderly will be satisfied withthe increase.
According to Chui’s 2018 Policy Address, senior citizens will receive 69,850 patacas next year, or 5,820 patacas per month.
According to a government statement on the policy address, the benefits for the elderly comprise the following items: old-age allowance of 9,000 patacas per year; old-age pension of 3,450 patacas per month 13 times a year; “wealth-sharing” handout of 9,000 patacas; 4) an additional 7,000 patacas to be deposited by the government into the Central Provident Fund account of every eligible permanent resident.
Apart from the proposed increase in the old-age allowance in the 2018 Policy Address from the current 8,000 patacas to 9,000 patacas per annum, the other payments will remain unchanged from this year.
According to official statistics, 9.8 percent of the population was aged 65 or over last year.
According to the government’s proposed budget for next year, the Social Welfare Bureau’s (IAS) expenditure will amount to 3.58 billion patacas, up 15 percent from this year’s planned spending.
Next year’s total budget proposal amounts to 119.1 billion patacas, up 15.7 percent from the one proposed for this year. The government plans to increase its total spending by 14.5 percent to 109.6 billion patacas. Expenditure by the Social Security Fund (FSM) is planned to rise by a mere 0.9 percent to 4.75 billion patacas.
The legislature is slated to vote on the 2018 budget proposal later this month. According to Article 71 of the Macau Basic Law, one of the powers and functions of the Legislative Assembly (AL) is “to examine and approve [the] budgets introduced by the government”.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng speaks to reporters yesterday on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of a day nursery run by the Macau Women’s General Association (commonly known as Fu Luen) in Fai Chi Kei. Photo: GCS
