Social Security

The Social Security Fund, operating under the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture, is responsible for implementing social security policies and managing related resources.  Established on 23 March 1990, its primary purpose was to provide social security for local employees.  As the aging population intensifies, residents have increasingly called for universal coverage.  In response, the SAR government announced the “Social Security and Old-Age Pension System Reform Plan” in November 2008.  The core of this reform is the establishment of a two-tier social security system.  The first tier, known as the Social Security System, ensures that all Macao residents receive basic social security with a particular emphasis on old-age security, thus enhancing their quality of life.  The second tier, the Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund System, helps individuals achieve a more comfortable retirement.

Social Security System

The Social Security System, established under Law No. 4/2010, came into effect on 1 January 2011, as the first tier of the two-tier social security system.  Its financial sources include allocation from gaming revenue, 1% of the recurrent revenue of the SAR government’s total budget for each year, 3% allocation from the central budget suplus, fixed contributions from beneficiaries enrolled in the system (employees, employers, and arbitrary system contributors), employment fee for non-resident workers, and income from investments of the Social Security Fund.

Since 2022, the Social Security Fund has fully implemented the Regular Adjustment Mechanism for Social Security Benefits to review and adjust old-age pension and other benefits more scientifically and systematically.  This aims to ensure the basic old-age security for residents and the sustainable development of the Social Security System.

Contribution 

The social security contribution system in Macao consists of a mandatory system and an arbitrary system.  Local employees and their employers, who have labour relations, are required to make mandatory contributions to the Social Security Fund.  The fixed contribution for the Social Security System is 90 patacas per month, which consists of 60 patacas from the employer and 30 patacas from the employee.  Additionally, other Macao residents who meet the legal requirements can enroll in the arbitrary system and pay the full contribution of 90 patacas per month themselves.

Social Security Benefits and Allowances

Beneficiaries who meet the legal requirements of the Social Security System may enjoy the following benefits under the law: old-age pension, disability pension, unemployment allowance, sickness allowance, birth allowance, marriage allowance, funeral allowance, and compensation for occupational respiratory disease.

According to Executive Order No. 212/2019, the amounts of various benefits and allowances under the Social Security System are as follows:

Pension payments/ Allowances	Amount (MOP)
Old-age pension	The maximum amount is 3,900 patacas per month
Disability pension	3,900 patacas per month
Unemployment allowance	157 patacas per day
Sickness allowance	Non-hospitalisation: 119 per day Hospitalisation: 157 per day
Birth allowance	6,500 patacas per child (Both parents can apply if they meet the requirements)
Marriage allowance	2,220 patacas (Both spouses can apply if they meet the requirements)
Funeral allowance	2,870 patacas (A lump sum payment is given to those who apply and prove that they have paid for the funeral expenses of the beneficiary.)

Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund System

The Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund System (referred to as the Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund), established under Law No. 7/2017, came into effect on 1 January 2018, as the second tier of the two-tier social security system.  It aims to strengthen the old-age security of residents of the Macao SAR and supplement the existing Social Security System.

The Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund System consists of a contributory system and an allocation system.  Account owners can make contributions through the contribution schemes for investment and, with the help of the “compound effect”, accumulate wealth and prepare for a more comfortable retirement life in the future.

Individual Accounts under the Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund

Macao SAR residents who are 18 years of age or above, or under 18 years of age but have enrolled in the Social Security System under the law, will automatically become individual account owners of the Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund.

The individual account of the Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund consists of a government-managed sub-account, a contribution sub-account, and a preserved sub-account.

Contribution System

The Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund consists of the Joint Provident Fund Scheme and the Individual Provident Fund Scheme. The Joint Provident Fund Scheme applies only to employed individuals and is established voluntarily by employers.  Participation by local employees is also voluntary.   Participating employees and their employers are required to contribute monthly a minimum of  5% of the employee’s basic wage for the month (referred to as the “calculation base of contributions”). Employers may choose to provide more favourable terms that exceed the basic standards of the system.  The upper and lower limits of the calculation base of monthly contributions are linked to the Minimum Wage for Employees.  The Individual Provident Fund Scheme is available to all account owners, requiring a minimum monthly contribution of 500 patacas.  The maximum contribution is also tied to the Minimum Wage for Employees, currently set at 3,500 patacas.  Contributions to both schemes are recorded in contribution sub-accounts and invested in pension funds provided by qualified fund management entities.

Upon the termination of an employment relationship, employees are entitled to receive their employer’s contributions, which are determined by the contribution period and the vesting percentage.  Since the Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund individual account is portable, the benefits in the contribution sub-account under the Joint Provident Fund Scheme will not be settled or withdrawn when employment ends.  Instead, these funds can be transferred to other sub-accounts for continued investment.

Allocation System

Account owners who are alive as of January 1 of the fund allocation year may be eligible to receive a one-time incentive funds of 10,000 patacas if they meet all the following criteria in the previous calendar year.

• Must be a permanent resident of the Macao SAR;
• Must be at least 22 years old;
• Must have resided in the Macao SAR for at least 183 days.

If the budget execution of the SAR government over the years permits, account owners who meet the specified requirements may receive a Special Allocation from Budget Surplus, which will be recorded in the government-managed sub-account.  In addition to rolling over and accumulating value within the account, account owners may apply to transfer funds to either a contribution sub-account or a preserved sub-account for investment purposes.

Withdrawal of Funds

To provide greater old-age security for account owners, fund withdrawals from individual accounts can generally be made only when the account owner reaches 65 years of age or meets other eligible criteria for fund withdrawal.