Earlier, President Johnson Toribiong proposed to amend said law by reducing the HCF contribution of each employee from 2.5 percent to 1.5 percent and moving its implementation to October 11 next year.
The proposal has been transmitted to the Olbiil Era Kelulau. And according to Meriang, “Both the House and the Senate have agreed to the amendment in a meeting held on October 8. And hopefully, next payday, the changes will be reflected on each employee’s pay slips.”
“The amendment is just a formality,” Meriang added. He said the amendment will be signed by the President by next week.
The proposal to reduce the HCF contributions was due to demands from both low-earning individuals and small business owners who are affected by the law.
However, Minister of Health Stevenson Kuartei and the Social Security Administraion (SSA) said deductions for the Healthcare Fund (HCF) are still 2.5 percent of employees’ salary, and not 1.5 percent as President Johnson Toribiong proposed.
“They had to change the law to accommodate that,” Kuartei said in an interview. “Right now, the law says it’s 2.5 percent. They’re proposing to change the law to 1.5 percent, but right now it hasn’t changed yet. People need to understand that.”
The SSA, in its press statement said, its staff has conducted outreach presentations for government agencies and private companies. “Recently, questions regarding the proposal to reduce the contribution rate from 2.5 percent to 1.5 percent were the focus of many discussions,” SSA said.
Although some may favor the reduction to 1.5 percent, according to SSA, the reaction of many people that have attended outreach meetings was to keep the contribution rate to 2.5 percent.
Alfonso Ngirungai of the Bureau of Agriculture said, “I know that many people do not like the idea of having money deducted from their paychecks. But if the contribution rate is reduced to 1.5 percent, it’s likely that benefits may also change – and I’m sure it won’t be for the better. So proposing to change the rate when the program hasn’t even been fully implemented is too quick. We should stick to the 2.5 percent and see how this program turns out.”
SSA continues to remind customers that deductions for the HCF are still 2.5 percent. And over the last several weeks, SSA said, a growing number of government and private employees have received enrollment forms for the HCF program. As of today, the SSA has printed and distributed over 7,000 enrollment forms, amounting to over 60 percent of all employees working in Palau.
SSA Administrator Greg Ngirmang said, “The enrollment forms are an opportunity for individuals to enroll their dependents and designated beneficiaries under their own accounts.”
SSA has visited states in Babeldaob and has traveled to Kayangel, Peleliu, and Angaur to talk to people about the program. SSA will enroll residents of Koror by hamlet, and is also organizing a week to enroll domestic helpers.
“Once these arrangements are finalized, we will inform the public,” Ngirmang said.
