The newly appointed Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region, Sam Hou Fai, said upon his return from Beijing that he would do his utmost to implement the important instructions given by President Xi Jinping; and that the new Macao SAR Government would take effective measures to provide the people with fair, accurate and targeted social welfare.
Social welfare is closely related to the living standards of residents. The Macao system includes social security, social services, healthcare, education, and other benefits. Although the government has gradually and comprehensively improved welfare levels through policies and services in different functional areas, the Old-Age Pension, an important component of social security and the most basic means of protecting the livelihood of retired residents, has not yet been adjusted. Currently, the pension amount is MOP3,740 per month. However, when the application is made in advance, the amount is adjusted according to factors such as age and months of contribution, which makes the pension received by some even lower.
In recent years, many voices in the community have called for an increase in the value of pensions. However, the authorities argue that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has not exceeded the three percent threshold, which is why the pension adjustment mechanism has not been adjusted upwards. The CPI is an indicator of price changes as a whole, including products for people’s subsistence, education, transport, tourism, and even luxury goods. Although it can measure the level of the overall price, it does not fully reflect the real living conditions of the elderly, taking into account, for example, the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages. Although annual inflation in categories relevant to the CPI does not exceed the three percent adjustment criterion, conditioned by relevant categories such as leisure and recreational activities, housing prices, domestic services, etc., the cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages has increased substantially year after year.
For the elderly, whose source of income depends mainly on government benefits, financial pressure continues to increase, mainly as a result of the increase in the price of food.
In the past, government authorities, in response to society’s aspirations, have stressed that the Old Age Pension and the Old Age Allowance are not inferior to the criterion used to measure Social Risk. And that, added to other benefits such as the Wealth Participation Plan, or the amounts allocated as an extraordinary distribution of budgetary balances, the average monthly income of the elderly is higher than the minimum value considered as Social Risk. Although the abovementioned measures include monetary benefits, the objectives and nature of these measures are different, so it is not reasonable to conclude that the monthly income of the elderly is higher than the minimum value of Social Risk, simply by adding these amounts together.
The Old Age Pension is an important pillar of the entire Social Security system, and an indispensable part of social welfare. It is therefore suggested that the Government review the mechanism for adjusting pensions, linking it directly to the value of Social Risk in the future. In other words, when this is adjusted, the value of pensions should also be automatically adjusted upwards, in order to ensure that the elderly can meet the minimum amount established by the Social Risk criterion, thus complying with the concept of scientific governance.
Although this relevant mechanism is in the process of being implemented, it is proposed that, in the short term, the disposable income of the elderly be adjusted upwards, relieving the financial pressure on the elderly. In the long term, it is suggested that the Administration study the creation of a Community Care Fund; as a “safety net” and solid support for the most basic needs of the elderly, whenever other measures fail, for various reasons.
People’s Alliance of Institutions of Macau
