Macau’s eligible permanent and non-permanent residents will continue to receive the city’s annual cash handout of MOP 10,000 and MOP 6,000, respectively, this year – the 18th consecutive year since it was launched by the Macau SAR Government in 2008.
The announcement was made by Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai (pictured) in a press conference on Monday after he delivered his inaugural policy address.
He underlined, however, that the cash handout programme was a temporary policy that will be put under review for improvement. Sam stopped short from specifying the details of the planned improvement but mentioned some public suggestions regarding eligibility criteria and distribution methods to optimise the programme.
He added that it was important to ensure the SAR’s financial stability amid global economic uncertainties.
The measure, officially called “Wealth Partaking Scheme”, has seen the local government distributing over MOP 92 billion to its eligible permanent and non-permanent residents over the past 17 years.
According to the chief executive, some have suggested an eligibility criterion used for the city’s non-mandatory Central Provident Fund scheme, granting cash injections only to Macau ID card holders who have resided in Macau for at least 183 days during the year, while others suggested distributing parts of the cash handouts in the form of consumption vouchers to stimulate local spendings.
Furthermore, this year’s cash handout will be distributed with a one- or two-month delay as Sam just started his tenure as Macau’s chief executive five months ago. The distribution is made in two ways – direct bank transfer or mailing of cross cheque.
Last year, a total of 717, 018 permanent residents and 30,850 non-permanent residents received the cash handout. For more information about this government subsidy visit the Wealth Partaking Scheme’s official website.
Meanwhile, Sam also introduced in his policy address a new childcare subsidy of MOP 1,500 per month, per child under the age of three who holds a Macau permanent resident ID card.
In addition, the city’s monthly pension has been increased from MOP 3,740 to MOP 3,900, while the elderly subsidy was raised from MOP 9,000 to MOP 10,000 per year.
Birth allowance is now MOP 6,500, up from MOP 5,418 and the marriage allowance was increased to MOP 2,200 to pave the way for family growth, while the total value of medical vouchers for each permanent resident has been raised from MOP 600 to MOP 700. Disability allowance is now MOP 10,000 annually and the special disability allowance is MOP 20,000 per year, while the monthly disability pension is MOP 3,900.
Moreover, an additional MOP 7,000 will be injected into each of the eligible residents’ non-mandatory Central Provident Fund accounts, according to the press conference. – GNM
Source and Photo: Government Information Bureau (GCS)
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