According to Executive Order No. 357/2016, the contribution amount of the social security system will be increased from 45 patacas to 90 patacas on 1 January 2017.  Of which, the contribution amount of the obligatory system is 30 patacas for employees and 60 patacas for employers, and the amount for the contributions of the arbitrary system is 90 patacas.  The Social Security Fund (abbreviated to FSS in Macao) said that the increase has taken into account the current economic level and the affordability of the residents.  At present, there have been no significant changes in the principles of the system and it is appropriate to maintain the original ratio of contributions between employees and employers.

Iong Kong Io, President of the FSS Administrative Committee, said at a press conference that the FSS has introduced five different proposals to the Standing Committee for the Coordination of Social Affairs since December 2012 to increase the contributions, which include increasing the contribution amount to 90 patacas and maintaining the existing ratio of contributions between employees and employers.  Although employees and employers agreed on the increased contribution, they were divided over the issue of maintaining the existing ratio of contributions between employees and employers.  The Government has made several attempts to reconcile the difference in the meantime, but both parties have yet to reach a consensus on the issue.  At the current economic level, the median monthly income of the local working residents is 18,000 patacas.  The decision to set the contribution amount at 90 patacas is a result of an assessment of the socio-economic environment and the affordability of both employees and employers.  The amount is also widely recognized by both parties and the community.  At the same time, it is appropriate to maintain the original contribution ratio between employees and employers as 1 to 2 based on the premise that there have been no significant changes in the principles of the current social security system.  If the overall social security system changes in the future, the community can discuss it again later.

The last increase in the amount of contributions of the social security system was made in 1998, from 30 patacas to 45 patacas, while the amount of old-age pension was increased from 800 patacas, which was first paid in 1995, to the current 3,450 patacas, which has experienced a total of nine increases in the meantime.  Iong said that the gap between contributions and payments is growing, coupled with the trend of aging society, so it is expected that the number of old-age pensioners and the number of years for receipt of old-age pension will rise.  Thus, relying on the Government to bear most of the expenditure will be detrimental to the social security system and to the overall development of the society's protection for the elderly.  Therefore, ensuring the long-term and sustainable development of the social security system by means of increasing the amount of contributions, gradually increasing the responsibility of both employees and employers, and reducing the reliance on a single financing is of major significance.

The FSS estimated that after the contribution amount is increased to 90 patacas, the annual contribution income will increase to nearly 200 million patacas, and the SAR Government will inject a total of 37 billion patacas in four years from 2013.  By the year end, the total asset value budget of the FSS will be about 68 billion patacas, which is in a healthy financial position.

Moreover, in the future, there is also a need to explore and study the feasibility of setting up an adjustment mechanism for the social security system so that the contribution amount and the old-age pension amount can be adjusted on a more rational basis, by using operating modes such as scientific factors, periodic review and timely adjustment, thus ensuring the affordability, robustness and adequacy of the system, so that residents can benefit in the long run.

Under the social security system, the contributions of local employees and arbitrary system are paid quarterly.  The contributions of the preceding quarter are paid in January, April, July and October.  Employers and the beneficiaries of the arbitrary system will therefore be required to pay the new amount for the contributions of the first quarter (January to March) in April next year, and the casual workers' contributions are paid within the next month of the employee’s work.  As a result, employers will be required to pay the new contribution amount for their casual workers from February onwards.