In order to deepen the understanding of Macao’s young people on the social security policy of the SAR Government, President of the Administrative Committee of the Social Security Fund (abbreviated to FSS in Macao), Iong Kong Io, recently visited the University of Macau Students’ Union and shared with college students his views about financial management, on the theme of “Plan Early for a Worry-Free Retirement”, and he introduced to them pension policies such as the Social Security System and the Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund System. 

Iong first introduced the ageing trend of Macao society.  It is estimated that by 2020, the Macao’s elderly population who are aged 65 or older will account for about 14.2% of the local population, i.e. one out of every seven people is an elderly.  In order to cope with an ageing population and assist residents to prepare for their retirement, the SAR Government has established a two-tier social security system.  The first tier, Social Security System, provides basic old-age security for residents by collecting fixed amount of contributions and making fixed amount of social security payments, while the second tier, Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund System, where employees, employers or individuals accumulate wealth for a more comfortable retirement by participating in the provident fund contribution schemes, making savings and investments.  Iong said that under the premise that the government provided basic old-age security, personal investment and savings were the important parts of ensuring the quality of life after retirement.  The time factor has a significant impact on the effectiveness of investment, so the young people were asked to develop savings habits and properly manage their finance as early as possible. 

The students at the scene reacted enthusiastically and interacted with Iong in a relaxed atmosphere.  For social security contributions that students were concerned about, Iong reminded that local employees who had entered the job market and established labour relations with others, as well as their employers, must make contributions to the FSS through the obligatory system.  The amount of contributions is currently 90 patacas per person per month – 30 patacas for employees and 60 patacas for employers – and the contributions are paid by the employer to the FSS in full and on time.  Those who plan to engage in freelance employment or those who are not employed during the period of job change can pay contributions for themselves through the arbitrary system.  The monthly contributions are 90 patacas. 

In addition, the Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund System implemented this year has also attracted the attention of students, and there were students who asked about its participation methods.  Iong said that those who had attained the age of 18 and had not started work yet could participate in the individual provident fund scheme, and invest by purchasing qualified fund products provided by the fund management entities.  He also reminded that fund products were generally divided into high, medium and low risks.  A person should first understand the characteristics of each product and his or her own risk tolerance before investing.

At the event, some students even shared their expectations for old-age living, and other students also raised questions about investment and financial management. Iong responded one by one. He also encouraged students to set financial goals early, take the initiative to invest and manage their finance, and adjust their investment strategies at different stages of life to make early plans for future retirement.