SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 1980
$269 MILLION IN SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS PAID OUT
****
+
THE SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT, IN ADDITION TO CONTINUED EXPANSION IN DIRECT WELFARE SERVICÈS, HAS PAID OUT $269 MILLION AS NON-CONTRIBUTORY SOCIAL SECURITY CASH BENEFITS IN THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF 1980.
THE MONEY WENT TO MORE THAN 300 000 PEOPLE AS PUBLIC
ASSISTANCE TO MEET BASIC LIVING EXPENSES, AND AS OLD AGE ALLOWANCE AND DISABILITY ALLOWANCE TO MEET SPECIAL NEEDS.
THE AMOUNT WAS ABOUT $27.8 MILLION MORE THAN IN THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD LAST YEAR, AND REPRESENTED AN AVERAGE DAILY PAYOUT OF $1.4 MILLION.
AT PRESENT, THE DEPARTMENT'S 26 SOCIAL SECURITY FIELD UNITS IN THE VARIOUS DISTRICTS ARE TOGETHER HANDLING 45 000 PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, 149 000 OLD AGE ALLOWANCE AND 26 200 DISABILITY ALLOWANCE CASES.
A SPOKESMAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT SAID TODAY THE INCREASE IN PAYOUT WAS MAINLY DUE TO THE INCREASE OF 15 PER CENT IN SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENT RATES MADE LAST SEPTEMBER.
HE SAID THE PAYMENT RATES WOULD BE INCREASED BY ANOTHER 22 PER CENT AS FROM NEXT MONTH IN STEP WITH INFLATION TO MAINTAIN THE IR REAL PURCHASING POWER.
OF THE $269 MILLION PAYOUT FOR THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS THIS YEAR, HE SAID, $119 MILLION WERE PAID AS PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, $112 MILLION AS OLD AGE ALLOWANCE, AND $38 MILLION AS DISABILITY ALLOWANCE.
THE MEANS-TESTED PUBLIC ASSISTANCE SCHEME PROVIDES MONTHLY CASH ASSISTANCE TO HELP MAINTAIN THE INCOME OF A HOUSEHOLD IN NEED UP TO A LEVEL WHERE BASIC LIVING CAN BE MET.
THE SCHEME IS BUILT IN WITH SUPPLEMENTS TO PROVIDE EXTRA GRANTS FOR RECIPIENTS WHO ARE AGED 60 YEARS AND OVER, OR WHO ARE PARTIALLY DISABLED. IN ADDITION, A LUMP SUM IS PAID EACH YEAR TO LONG-TERM RECIPIENTS FOR REPLACING HOUSEHOLD ITEMS.
AS FROM NEXT MONTH, THE NEW PAYMENT RATES FOR SINGLE PERSONS WILL BE $280 A MONTH AS PUBLIC ASSISTANCE- $140 A MONTH AS OLD AGE SUPPLEMENT OR DISABILITY SUPPLEMENT- AND $355 A YEAR AS LONG-TERM SUPPLEMENT (OR $700 A YEAR FOR A FAMILY.)
THE NON-MEANS TESTED OLD AGE OR DISABILITY ALLOWANCE PROVIDES A MONTHLY CASH GRANT, ON TOP OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, AS EXTRA FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE FAMILY TO LOOK AFTER AN ELDERLY OR SEVERELY DISABLED PERSON AND TO MEET SPECIAL NEEDS ARISING OUT OF OLD AGE OR DISABILITY.
/UNDER