Frequently Asked Questions
The purpose of establishing the non-mandatory central provident fund system is to strengthen the social protection for the residents of the Macao Special Administrative Region in their old age and to complement the existing social security system.
The incentive basic funds prescribed by the Law of “Provident Fund Individual Accounts” will be considered as being paid to the individual account of the non-mandatory central provident fund system and therefore the account owner will get the incentive basic funds for once.
It will not affect your right to the special allocation from budget surplus.
No. The contributions are invested by the fund management entities of the market. Employers, employees, and the contributors of individual provident fund scheme pay contributions to the fund management entities and subscribe fund units from them.
The fund management entity may apply to the Social Security Fund for registration of its managed open pension fund(s) that has/have been approved by the Monetary Authority of Macao as the investment instrument(s) of the non-mandatory central provident fund system.
Account owners may visit the non-mandatory central provident fund system’s information platform for the list of pension funds already registered with the non-mandatory central provident fund.
No. The government-managed sub-account is not used for receiving contributions. It is primarily for the use of recording and managing the funds allocated by the government and the balance transferred from other sub-accounts.
The Monetary Authority of Macao supervises the fund management entities, their business agents, the pension funds’ portfolio and their operations according to the existing laws in order to protect the rights and interests of account owners.
Account owners may check information about the non-mandatory central provident fund’s individual account (including government-managed sub-account, contribution sub-account and preserved sub-account) in the following ways:
(1) Log in to the non-mandatory central provident fund system’s information platform using "Macao One Account";
(2) "Macao One Account" mobile application;
(3) "Macao One Account" online platform;
For more detailed information about the contribution sub-account and preserved sub-account, please contact the fund management entity.
Such information can be found on the non-mandatory central provident fund system information platform, or you may contact the fund management entities for the related information.
The employer may contact the fund management entities for the related information.
After the employer has interfaced with the non-mandatory central provident fund system, old employees who have already participated in a private pension plan can choose to interface with the non-mandatory central provident fund system, or choose to remain in the private pension plan. However, the newly hired employees can only participate in the non-mandatory central provident fund system. (For more details, please refer to the “Interface between Joint Provident Fund Scheme and Private Pension Plan”.)
The non-mandatory central provident fund system only lays down the basic standards. The law has made it clear that if the terms set in the private pension plan are more favourable for employees than those in the non-mandatory central provident fund system, such terms must continue to apply after interfacing. In the above example, the upper limit of the calculation base of contributions must remain at 50,000 patacas at the time when the employer interfaces with the non-mandatory central provident fund system.
The contribution time for the private pension plan and the joint provident fund scheme must be added together. For example, assume that an employee already had five years of contributions towards a private pension plan, and he or she chose to interface with the non-mandatory central provident fund system in the sixth year. Then, he or she paid contributions towards the non-mandatory central provident fund system for two more years before leaving the job. In this case, both the private pension plan and the joint provident fund scheme must be calculated based on seven years.
No.
Within the limits set by tax laws, in order to determine the employer’s taxable profits with respect to profits tax and salaries tax, the employer’s contributions towards the joint provident fund scheme are regarded as operating costs or the burdens of doing business. (For more details, please refer to the “Tax Concessions”.)
No. Employers participating in the non-mandatory central provident fund system must allow all local employees, except non-resident workers, to choose whether to participate in the scheme, and they must notify their employees of exercising their right to participate within 10 working days from the date of receiving the notice about the coming into effect of the scheme.
The fund management entity is chosen by the employer. The employer and employee may choose the suitable pension fund and investment allocation for their own contributions. However, if the employee’s contribution time satisfies the requirement for obtaining all the contribution balance of his or her employer, the right to choose the investment allocation of the employer’s contributions should be passed on to the related employee even though the labour relationship has not been terminated.
Yes. After the employer and the new fund management entity have entered into the joint provident fund scheme contract, the documents will be submitted to the new fund management entity for the related formalities and it is subject to the approval of the Social Security Fund. The switching of fund management entities must not reduce the employee’s benefits granted by the original fund management entity, in particular, the employer’s contribution rate, the calculation base of contributions and the vesting of benefits, and it shall not affect the continuous calculation of the contribution time.
Yes.
The minimum amount of contributions towards the joint provident fund scheme is 5% of the employee's monthly basic wage (commonly known as the basic salary). The employer may also set the calculation base of contributions to be more favourable for his or her employees, e.g. to calculate the contributions based on the basic remuneration (i.e. the whole salary for the month).
The employer should make the adjustment by way of amending the joint provident fund scheme through the fund management entity.
The standards set by the law are only the minimum requirements. The System allows employers to set conditions that are more favourable for employees. Employers can therefore provide multiple fund management entity choices for their employees at the same time, and can also provide better-than-standard calculation base of contributions, contribution rates, etc.
The employer should inform the fund management entity of the change in the employee’s class as soon as possible so that the related fund management entity can make the corresponding adjustments.
The employer can use the funds to pay contributions for other employees or apply to the Social Security Fund for fund withdrawal, but such funds cannot enjoy tax concessions.
The employer should inform the related fund management entity of termination of a labour relationship by submitting a dedicated form designated by the fund management entity in the month following the termination of a labour relationship.
The fund management entity and the Social Security Fund will remind and advise the employer to fulfil his or her obligations. If the employer is still in arrears with contributions, the default contributions may be subject to compulsory collection according to the law.
If it proves that an employer has intended to misappropriate all or part of the non-mandatory central provident fund system contributions that he or she deducted from the employee’s remuneration according to law and fails to remit the deducted amount to the fund management entity within 60 days after the expiration of the statutory time limit, he or she will be liable to imprisonment of up to three years or a fine.
No. However, the employer may apply to the Social Security Fund based on major economic reasons, and if the application is granted, the employer may suspend the contributions for all of his or her employees for up to one year. (The employer may apply for renewal of the suspension in accordance with the relevant provisions)
Yes.
The employer may apply in person or through a representative by bringing the application form and related documents to the Social Security Fund. (For details, please see "Application for the Employer to Make Online Enquiry”). If the application is successful, the employer may log in to “Online Services” with "Macao One Account” to check information such as the contribution record and account balance of the joint provident fund scheme.
After an employee joins a company, whether he or she is within the probationary period or whether he or she is a casual worker, the contribution will start in the month following the employee’s written consent to participate in the scheme.
It is beneficial to employees. The non-mandatory central provident fund system provides that the employer’s contribution balance after interfacing cannot be used as deduction for dismissal compensation.
An employee does not have the right to choose the fund management entity but is chosen by his or her employer. The employee then chooses the investment allocation for his or her contributions from among the investment instruments that the above entity has registered under the non-mandatory central provident fund system; and when the employee’s contribution time fulfils the requirement for obtaining all the contribution balance of his or her employer, the employee can have the sole discretion to decide the investment allocation for the contributions of the employer and his or her own.
No. Since the contributions paid by the employer and employee are recorded separately, only when the employee’s contribution time fulfils the requirement for obtaining all the contribution balance of his or her employer can the employee have the sole discretion to decide the investment allocation.
Yes. The employee can apply to the fund management entity for the adjustment through his or her employer, but only once a year.
The contributions are deducted by the employer from the employee's monthly wages and remitted by the employer to the fund management entity.
You should complete a form for complaint against the employer and submit the required documents to the Social Security Fund for its follow-up action.
They can only participate in the individual provident fund scheme.
No.
In the current non-mandatory stage, employees can decide for themselves whether to participate in the scheme.
In the current non-mandatory stage, an employee can decide for him or herself whether to participate in the scheme. Once he or she has decided to participate in the joint provident fund schemes of two employers, the employee must pay contributions towards these two joint provident fund schemes respectively.
No. However, if the employer applies to the Social Security Fund for suspension of contributions based on major economic reasons and the application is approved, his or her employee can apply to the Social Security Fund for suspension of contributions citing this reason. The period during which both parties suspend contributions will not be counted towards the contribution time.
The upper limit for the calculation base of contributions is 33,280 patacas. The employer and employee can be exempted from paying contributions in respect of the excess amount. The lower limit for the calculation base of contributions is 7,007 patacas. If the employee’s basic salary is less than the lower limit, the employee can be exempted from paying contributions, but the employer is still required to make contributions. However, the law allows employer and employee to make contributions, either jointly or separately, in respect of the excess amount. (For more details, please refer to the “Contents of Joint Provident Fund Scheme”).
Any resident of the Macao Special Administrative Region who has reached 18 years of age, or under age 18 but has already enrolled in the social security system, may establish an individual provident fund scheme, and there are no other requirements.
Yes. However, the account owner can only establish one individual provident fund scheme with each fund management entity.
Yes.
Yes.
It depends on whether the fund management entity selected by the contributor of the individual provident fund scheme has penalties or not.
No. The contributions of an individual provident fund scheme should be paid monthly and a cap is placed on the contribution amount, which currently stands at 3,300 patacas.
Yes. The account owner should inform the fund management entity in writing and it will take effect in the month following the date of notification. The amount of adjustment for the contributions must be an integral multiple of 100 patacas.
Account owners are required to notify the relevant fund management entity to stop contributions, but note whether the fund management entity has additional charges or restrictions for termination of contributions. Only account owners who satisfy the requirements for fund withdrawal may withdraw all or part of the funds in the individual account. (For details, please refer to the “Withdrawal of Funds”.)
Yes.
By bringing the relevant documents, account owners may apply in person or through a representative at the Social Security Fund. (For details, please refer to "To Transfer the Funds Out of the Government-Managed Sub-Account”)
The account owner may also apply in the following ways:
(1) Log in to the "Online Services" on the Social Security Fund’s website using "Macao One Account";
(2) "Macao One Account" mobile application;
The account owner must log in to the "Online Services" with the account password of "Macao One Account". About the procedures for applying for "Macao One Account", please contact the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau.
The account owner must download the “Macao One Account" mobile app and log in with the account password of "Macao One Account". About the procedures for applying for "Macao One Account", please contact the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau.
The prerequisite for using the above-mentioned methods to apply for the transfer of funds out of government-managed sub-account is that the account owner must have participated in a provident fund scheme and the fund management entity must have provided the information to Social Security Fund. If the provident fund scheme has just been approved but the information has not been sent to the Social Security Fund, the account owner may not be able to apply for the transfer of funds out of government-managed sub-account using the above-mentioned methods immediately.
In addition, you cannot apply to transfer the funds out of your government-managed sub-account in the following situations:
(1) Your application (for the transfer of funds out of/to government-managed sub-account/for fund withdrawal) is pending approval;
(2) You have been approved once this year for the transfer of funds out of your government-managed sub-account;
(3) You are not an individual account owner of the non-mandatory central provident fund system;
(4) Your government-managed sub-account balance is zero;
(5) There is no valid contribution sub-account/preserved sub-account.
It is not necessary.
Yes. The above situation belongs to the transfer of funds between sub-accounts, so it is not subject to the monthly maximum contribution amount of 3,300 patacas, but all the balance in the government-managed sub-account must be transferred. Please also note that the funds in the government-managed sub-account can be transferred in and transferred out only once a year.
Yes, you can.
The account owner may apply in person or through a representative by bringing the relevant documents to the Social Security Fund. (For more information, see "To Transfer the Funds to the Government-Managed Sub-Account”)
The account owner may also apply in the following ways:
(1) Log in to the "Online Services" on the Social Security Fund’s website using "Macao One Account";
Yes.
Yes. However, the account owner is required to complete a dedicated form within three months from the date of obtaining the benefits from the private pension plan in order to apply to the Social Security Fund for the transfer of related benefits to his or her individual account.
An account owner who is still alive on 1 January of the year of fund distribution and who simultaneously met the following requirements during the preceding calendar year shall be entitled to the incentive basic funds:
(1) He or she was a permanent resident of the Macao Special Administrative Region;
(2) He or she attained 22 years of age;
(3) He or she stayed in the Macao Special Administrative Region for at least 183 days.
Each account owner of the non-mandatory central provident fund system will be entitled to the incentive basic funds once only.
The period during which an account owner was outside the Macao SAR for the following reasons shall be considered as the time staying in Macao, but he or she is required to provide sufficient evidence to the Social Security Fund:
(1) He or she attended higher education courses recognized by the local competent authority;
(2) He or she was hospitalized;
(3) He or she resided in mainland China and:
(a) attained 65 years of age;
(b) was under 65 years of age, due to health reason, in particular, the need for non-hospital nursing, palliative therapy, rehabilitation services or family care;
(4) He or she provided work outside the Macao Special Administrative Region for an employer registered with the Social Security Fund;
(5) He or she worked outside the Macao SAR in order to bear the main living expenses of his or her spouse, any degree of lineal consanguinity or affinity who resided in the Macao SAR;
(6) He or she performed official duties, performed duties for the Macao SAR or discharged other official duties;
(7) The Chief Executive may, after obtaining advice from the Administrative Committee of the Social Security Fund, allow an account owner’s period of stay outside the Macao Special Administrative Region for humanitarian or other properly explained reasons to be considered as the time staying in Macao.
If an account owner of the non-mandatory central provident fund system has never been allocated the incentive basic funds, provided that he or she meets the requirements for the incentive basic funds in any calendar year, he or she will be entitled to receive a one-time incentive basic fund.
An account owner who is still alive on 1 January of the year of announcement about the special allocation from budget surplus and who simultaneously met the following requirements during the preceding calendar year shall be entitled to the special allocation from budget surplus:
(1) He or she was a permanent resident of the Macao Special Administrative Region;
(2) He or she attained 22 years of age;
(3) He or she stayed in the Macao Special Administrative Region for at least 183 days.
The number of days an account owner stays in Macao is basically based on the entry/exit records provided by the Public Security Police Force. As long as an account owner has been in Macao within one day, he or she will be counted as staying in Macao for that day.
The period during which an account owner was outside the Macao SAR for the following reasons shall be considered as the time staying in Macao, but he or she is required to provide sufficient evidence to the Social Security Fund:
(1) He or she attended higher education courses recognized by the local competent authority;
(2) He or she was hospitalized;
(3) He or she resided in mainland China and:
(a) attained 65 years of age;
(b) was under 65 years of age, due to health reason, in particular, the need for non-hospital nursing, palliative therapy, rehabilitation services or family care;
(4) He or she provided work outside the Macao Special Administrative Region for an employer registered with the Social Security Fund;
(5) He or she worked outside the Macao SAR in order to bear the main living expenses of his or her spouse, any degree of lineal consanguinity or affinity who resided in the Macao SAR;
(6) He or she performed official duties, performed duties for the Macao SAR or discharged other official duties;
(7) The Chief Executive may, after obtaining advice from the Administrative Committee of the Social Security Fund, allow an account owner’s period of stay outside the Macao Special Administrative Region for humanitarian or other properly explained reasons to be considered as the time staying in Macao.
Under normal circumstances, an account owner may apply to withdraw all or part of the balance from his or her individual account when he or she turns 65 years old. For an account owner who is under 65 years of age but meets the requirements of the law, he or she may apply for early withdrawal of the funds. For more details, please refer to the Withdrawal of Funds on the Social Security Fund’s website. In addition, the account owner may withdraw once a year for all or part of the funds from his or her individual account.
In terms of the accumulated funds of the private pension plan, the account owner may withdraw the funds according to the conditions laid down in the plan; and for the accumulated funds of the joint provident fund scheme, the account owner may, under normal circumstances, apply for fund withdrawal when he or she turns 65 years old.
No. Prior to termination of a labour relationship, the contributions paid by employer and employee are recorded separately. Even if the account owner meets the requirements for fund withdrawal, the employee can only withdraw his or her own contribution balance.
To withdraw funds on the grounds of “attaining 60 years of age and not engaging in any paid activities”, you may use this reason to apply for early withdrawal of funds but only once between the age of 60 and 65.
He or she may submit the application, either in person or through a representative, to Social Security Fund’s St. Lazarus Parish Field Office, Macao Government Services Centre, Macao Government Services Centre in Islands and four Public Services Centres under Municipal Affairs Bureau, or use a self-service machine to apply for fund withdrawal.
Yes. However, since the fund withdrawal involves more than one sub-account, you may need to indicate in the dedicated form the order of settlement of each sub-account.
The following eligible individual account owners may apply for fund withdrawal through the self-service machine:
(1) An account owner who attains 65 years of age and is currently receiving old-age pension/disability pension from the Social Security Fund, or subsidy for senior citizens from the Social Welfare Bureau;
(2) An account owner, under age 65, who has been receiving disability subsidy from the Social Security Fund for more than one year;
(3) An account owner who is currently receiving special disability subsidy from the Social Welfare Bureau.
The account owner who meets the eligibility for fund withdrawal can apply for withdrawal of all or part of the funds from his or her individual account. If the application is filed for the following reasons, the maximum amount that can be withdrawn is the amount of government funds distributed to the account owner over the years but has not been withdrawn. This amount does not include the contingent revenue obtained over the years.
(1) There is a need for him or her to bear huge medical expenses due to the serious injury or illness of his or her spouse, any degree of lineal consanguinity or affinity;
(2) He or she has been receiving disability pension payable under Law No. 4/2010 for more than one year;
(3) He or she is currently receiving special disability subsidy payable under Law No. 9/2011 (Disability Allowance and Free Health Care Service System).
If an account owner dies, the final balance of his or her individual account shall be included in his or her estate, and the legal heir(s) of the account owner can apply to withdraw the deceased account owner’s individual account balance, but it is required to submit a Notarial Certificate Confirming the Qualification of Heir or a proof issued by the court. The “Notarial Certificate Confirming the Qualification of Heir” can be applied at the following places:
- First Public Notary Office:
2.º andar, Macao Government Services Centre, No. 52, Rua Nova da Areia Preta, Macau
Telephone number: 2857 4258
- Second Public Notary Office:
3 º andar, Public Administration Building, No. 162, Rua do Campo, Macau
Telephone number: 2855 4460
- Island Public Notary Office:
3 º andar, Macao Government Services Centre in Islands, No. 225, Rua de Coimbra, Taipa, Macau
Telephone number: 2882 7502/2882 7504
Under Law No. 7/2017 (Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund System), account owners must be at least age 65 to withdraw funds. The reason given by account owners under age 65 to apply for early withdrawal of funds must be supported with documents and so they must go through the formalities of fund withdrawal every year.
Registration for Automatic Withdrawal of Funds is a convenient measure. For account owners aged 65 or older who are eligible for payment, the special allocation from budget surplus for the year together with the contingent revenue will be paid in the year of fund allocation. There is no need to specify the payment amount.
From the year following the year of registration, the funds will be paid in late August of the year of fund allocation provided that the account owner meets all the requirements for payment. The requirements for payment are as follows:
(1) The person must be included in the list of special allocation from budget surplus announced in mid-June of the year concerned
(2) The person must have provided the proof of life for the year by June 30th of the year concerned
(3) The person has not applied for withdrawal of funds from his/her non-mandatory central provident fund system individual account between January 1st and June 30th of the year concerned.
No, it does not.
You must wait until you are 65 before you can register.
No, you cannot. The money will be deposited into the bank account where the account owner is receiving old-age or disability pension.
You only need to report the account owner’s death to the Social Security Fund. If there is still a balance in his/her individual account, you are still required to go to the Social Security Fund to apply for fund withdrawal by the heir in accordance with the relevant regulations on inheritance.
Yes, you can but only the cancellation request submitted before the end of June will take effect in the year concerned.
The income settlement date for each year is 31 December of the year, and the income will be transferred to the government-managed sub-account of the individual account, in the month following the income settlement date. The amount of income may vary according to the daily government-managed sub-account balance during the income calculation period, and the rate of return, etc.
No. The amount of income distributed is calculated based on the daily balance of the government-managed sub-account during the income calculation period. For more information about the calculation of income, please refer to the Examples of Income Calculation on the Social Security Fund’s website.
According to the law, if an account owner dies, his or her individual account shall be cancelled after settlement. The account owner’s individual account must remain in effect on the income settlement date (31st December) in order to be eligible for the distributed income. Therefore, if the heir of the estate applies for withdrawal of the account balance in November, the individual account will then be cancelled before the income settlement date, and no income will be distributed to the heir.