The promises
- Kept
Senior benefit SAT$300 a month from age 65
Paid from November 2025; government reports 13,000 pensioners.
Good for aigaRead more
- Promised
- Raise the Senior Citizens Benefit to SAT$300 a month from age 65, paid in fortnightly instalments 1. Campaign reports disagree on the unit: the Samoa Observer comparison printed "pensions at $300–500 fortnightly" 2, while Samoa Global News reported SAT$300 a month from 65 and SAT$500 a month from 70, paid fortnightly 1. No start date was given 1.
- What happened
- The 2025/26 budget, tabled 6 October 2025, raised monthly pension and disability payments to SAT$300 from November 2025, for 15,099 people together 3. The 2026/27 budget address of May 2026 said all pensioners receive SAT$300 a month and that the increased pension had reached 13,000 pensioners 4. The SNPF, which administers the scheme, lists SAT$300 a month from age 65, with free consultations at government hospitals and free medical supplies at government pharmacies 5. The 2026/27 budget appropriated SAT$54,084,867 for the senior and disability schemes together 4.
- Impact on families
- About 13,000 people aged 65 and over receive SAT$300 a month 45. The 13,000 figure is a government programme figure from the budget address, not an audited count of payments 4. No measured effect on household poverty has been published since the rise; the 2023 household survey, taken before it, put poverty among people aged 65 and over at 11.4% 7, and a later survey would show whether that has changed.
- Cost
- About SAT$46.8m a year for 13,000 people at SAT$300 (our arithmetic), about 3.6% of budget receipts of SAT$1,284.7m; the budget's joint senior-and-disability line is SAT$54.1m 4.
- Verdict for families
- Good for aiga
- Can it be done?
- Doable
- Long term
- Mixed long term
- Who deserves the credit
-
Shared credit
The scheme, run by the SNPF, and the SAT$200 base rate are inherited: Fiamē's 14 September 2021 budget raised the pension from SAT$160 to SAT$200 a month 105. What this government added is the SAT$100 rise in its 6 October 2025 budget, which it presents as its own relief measure 3.
- Who gains
- About 13,000 people over 65 get SAT$100 a month more than the SAT$200 rate paid since 2021, SAT$1,200 a year each 4.
- Who pays
- Taxpayers, about SAT$15.6m a year more than the old rate (our arithmetic), in a budget with a SAT$215.9m cash deficit and no new tax to fund it 4.
- Assessment
- The pension goes to nearly every person over 65 whatever their income; the Statistical Abstract puts old-age pension receipt at 98.5% of older people 6. People aged 65 and over had a poverty rate of 11.4% in 2023, below the national 15.2%, so a flat rate also reaches households that are not poor, though most pensioners live in extended families where the money is shared 7. At about 3.6% of receipts, with debt at 19.4% of GDP, it can be kept up 48. The cost rises as the population ages and the IMF asked that support be targeted, so the rate is affordable but the design is not targeted 9. Of the SAT$300 now paid, SAT$200 was already in place under the previous government, so the new decision is the last third of the rate 10.
Sources (10)
- Laaulialemalietoa Secures his Seat with Ease as FAST Numbers Start to Stack Up
- What the three major parties are promising Samoa
- Minister of Finance Tables $1.24bn Talā Peoples Budget
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- Senior Citizens Benefit Fund
- Statistical Abstract 2025
- Samoa monetary poverty assessment 2023
- Government Finance Statistics, June 2026 Quarter
- 2026 Article IV Consultation for Samoa: IMF Staff Concluding Statement
- Budget Address 2021/2022
- Kept
Senior benefit SAT$500 a month from age 70
In force from 1 July 2026 as SAT$250 a fortnight; budget expected 7,285 people.
Good for aigaRead more
- Promised
- Raise the senior benefit to SAT$500 a month for people aged 70 and over 1. No start date was given 1.
- What happened
- The 2026/27 budget address of May 2026 set the increase from SAT$300 to SAT$500 a month for people aged 70 and over from 1 July 2026, with 7,285 people expected to benefit 2. A government statement on 3 July 2026 said the new rate was being paid as SAT$250 a fortnight 4. A 12 August 2026 government statement said more than 7,000 senior citizens were receiving the higher benefit 5. People aged 65 to 69 stay on SAT$300 a month 2.
- Impact on families
- SAT$200 a month more for each eligible person, or about SAT$17.5 million a year if all 7,285 expected recipients are paid 2. The 7,285 figure is the budget's estimate and the "more than 7,000" figure is a government claim; no reconciliation of payments to named recipients has been published 25. No measured effect on hardship has been published. The World Bank's October 2024 brief gave the last national basic-needs poverty rate as 21.9% in 2018 and said estimates from the 2023 survey were not yet available 3; the Samoa Bureau of Statistics has since published the 2023 rate, 15.2% nationally and 11.4% for people aged 65 and over, measured before the rise 6.
- Cost
- About SAT$43.7m a year for 7,285 people at SAT$500, of which SAT$17.5m is the increase (our arithmetic), about 3.4% of budget receipts of SAT$1,284.7m 2.
- Verdict for families
- Good for aiga
- Can it be done?
- Doable
- Long term
- Mixed long term
- Who deserves the credit
-
This government's decision
The SAT$500 rate at 70 is this government's own step: flagged in its October 2025 budget and set in the May 2026 budget address, with no earlier government or partner behind it 102. It sits on an inherited scheme whose SAT$200 base was set under Fiamē in 2021 and which the SNPF administers as routine work 1112.
- Who gains
- More than 7,000 people aged 70 and over receive SAT$200 a month more, SAT$2,400 a year each 25.
- Who pays
- The budget, about SAT$17.5m a year (our arithmetic) in a year with a SAT$215.9m cash deficit; people aged 65 to 69 get no rise 2.
- Assessment
- Starting the higher rate at 70 puts the money with people least able to work, and people over 65 had a poverty rate of 11.4% in 2023, so the payment reaches need but is not tested for it 6. Seniors and disability together cost about SAT$75m a year by our arithmetic, above the SAT$54.1m appropriated for both, in a year when real GDP fell 1.6% and the budget planned a SAT$215.9m cash deficit 27. Debt at 19.4% of GDP leaves room to pay it 8. The IMF asked that support be temporary and targeted; this is permanent and flat, so the long-term cost grows with the number of people over 70 9.
Sources (12)
- Laaulialemalietoa Secures his Seat with Ease as FAST Numbers Start to Stack Up
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- Poverty & Equity Brief: Samoa, October 2024
- Government Delivers on Key Social Commitments from 1 July 2026
- District Development Funds — Facts, Accountability and Support for Samoan Families
- Samoa monetary poverty assessment 2023
- Gross Domestic Product, June 2026 Quarter
- Government Finance Statistics, June 2026 Quarter
- 2026 Article IV Consultation for Samoa: IMF Staff Concluding Statement
- Minister of Finance Tables $1.24bn Talā Peoples Budget
- Budget Address 2021/2022
- Senior Citizens Benefit Fund
- Kept
Disability benefit SAT$300
SAT$300 a month from November 2025; 2,875 recipients reported.
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- Promised
- Raise the disability allowance to SAT$300 1. The election comparison did not say whether that was a monthly rate 1. The benefit was SAT$100 a month when the scheme began in 2021 10.
- What happened
- The 2025/26 budget, tabled 6 October 2025, raised the disability benefit to SAT$300 a month from November 2025 2. The 2026/27 budget address of May 2026 said targeted social protection was reaching 2,875 people with disabilities 3. A 12 August 2026 government statement listed the disability benefit as increased to SAT$300 a month 4. The scheme began in 2021 at SAT$100 a month; the SNPF's Disability Benefit Fund pays it, and Parliament passed the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 2023 to move payment into the SNPF system 510. No separate amending Act for the new rate was found; the change was made through the budget 2.
- Impact on families
- 2,875 people receive SAT$200 a month more than the SAT$100 rate the scheme started with in 2021 310. The recipient count is a government figure, not an audited one 3. No measured effect on the living standards of people with disabilities has been published; the number registered (2,556 by March 2024 10) against the disability count in the 2021 census would show coverage.
- Cost
- About SAT$10.4m a year for 2,875 people at SAT$300 (our arithmetic), under 1% of budget receipts of SAT$1,284.7m 3.
- Verdict for families
- Good for aiga
- Can it be done?
- Doable
- Long term
- Good long term
- Who deserves the credit
-
Shared credit
The benefit itself is inherited: the Fiamē government set up the scheme in 2021 at SAT$100 a month from government funds, the 2023/24 budget provided SAT$2 million for 1,820 recipients, and 2,556 people were registered by March 2024 7610. This government's part is the rise to SAT$300 from November 2025 2; its August 2026 statement lists the increase, not the scheme, among its deliveries 4.
- Who gains
- 2,875 people with disabilities get SAT$200 a month more, SAT$2,400 a year each 3.
- Who pays
- Taxpayers, roughly SAT$7m a year more than the SAT$100 rate (our arithmetic); people with disabilities not registered with the fund are left out 35.
- Assessment
- The benefit is targeted: it goes only to people with disabilities, who a 2023 human-rights report found still faced unequal access to schooling, health care, buildings and transport 7. An evaluation recorded the 2023/24 budget paying SAT$100 a month to 1,820 people; the government reported 2,875 on SAT$300 in May 2026, so both coverage and the rate have risen 63. At about SAT$10m a year the cost is small against receipts of SAT$1,284.7m and fits the IMF's call for targeted support 38. The open question is coverage: people with disabilities who are not registered with the SNPF fund get nothing 5. The scheme and most of its register pre-date this government; the rate is what changed 59.
Sources (10)
- What the three major parties are promising Samoa
- Minister of Finance Tables $1.24bn Talā Peoples Budget
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- District Development Funds — Facts, Accountability and Support for Samoan Families
- Disability Benefit Fund
- Samoa Disability Partnership Program (SDPP) End of Investment Evaluation
- 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Samoa
- 2026 Article IV Consultation for Samoa: IMF Staff Concluding Statement
- 2023/2024 Budget Address: “Advancing growth through sustainable pathways conducive to socio-economic welfare and building resilience”
- Beijing +30 Samoa National Report: Implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) 2024
- Under way
Child benefit: SAT$100 a month under three, SAT$3,800 package
Funded at SAT$20 million and registering families; first payments January 2027.
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- Promised
- A SAT$3,800 family-support package from pregnancy through a child's first 1,000 days, over three years 1. The Samoa Observer's election comparison reported SAT$100 a month for each child under three 2. The sources do not explain how the two figures relate 12. No start date was given 1.
- What happened
- The 2026/27 budget address of May 2026 allocated SAT$20 million for a Child Wellbeing Benefit: a monthly SAT$100 for children aged 0 to 35 months plus a one-off SAT$200 baby bonus, taking effect from 1 July 2026 with first disbursements scheduled for January 2027 so that the SNPF and the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs can complete legislative amendments, system upgrades and registration 3. A 3 July 2026 government statement described the SAT$200 as paid on birth 11. The Prime Minister launched the programme on 31 July 2026; registration runs from 21 September to 30 November 2026, children born from 1 July 2026 are eligible, and children registered by 30 November are to be paid back to 1 July 2026 4. The launch tied the SAT$100 payments to immunisation checks at 1, 9, 20 and 30 months, and children who have not completed their immunisations do not receive them 4. In the 20 districts the ministry visited on Savai'i from 14 to 19 September 2026, 1,102 children were registered, about 30% of an estimated 3,458 eligible; Upolu registration runs from 21 September to 30 October 5. A birth certificate, immunisation certificate, bank statement and the parents' identification are required to register 5. First payments are not due until January 2027 310.
- Impact on families
- A family receiving every payment gets up to SAT$3,700 per child over 35 months, below the SAT$3,800 campaign figure 31. Nothing has been paid yet, so there is no measured impact; the 1,102 Savai'i registrations are registrations, not payments 5. The number of children paid from January 2027, and whether payments reach the estimated eligible population, would show delivery.
- Cost
- SAT$20m a year budgeted for 2026/27, about 1.6% of budget receipts of SAT$1,284.7m 3.
- Verdict for families
- Good for aiga
- Can it be done?
- Doable
- Long term
- Good long term
- Who deserves the credit
-
This government's decision
The SAT$20 million line, the SAT$200 plus SAT$100-a-month design and the January 2027 start are this government's decisions in the May 2026 budget address; the sources reviewed show no partner money behind it 3. The earlier FAST government approved a National Social Protection Policy Framework by 2023 to coordinate such benefits, registration is being done by the ministry's staff, and the SNPF is to pay it 95.
- Who gains
- Families with children under three, up to SAT$1,200 a year per child plus SAT$200 at birth; Savai'i alone had an estimated 3,458 eligible children 35.
- Who pays
- The budget, SAT$20m a year; families who cannot produce immunisation records or documents by the registration deadline are left out 35.
- Assessment
- Children are the poorest group in Samoa: 17.6% of children aged 0 to 14 were below the basic-needs line in 2023 against 15.2% of all people, so a payment for every child under three reaches need without a means test 6. Tying payments to immunisation checks gives families a reason to vaccinate on time, where UNICEF reported second-dose measles coverage of 60% in 2024 74. The cost is funded and small, and it fits the IMF's call for targeted help 38. The risk is at the edges: families who cannot produce documents by the registration deadline miss out, and nothing is paid until January 2027 53.
Sources (11)
- FAST Party Manifesto Centres on the Family Unit
- What the three major parties are promising Samoa
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- GOVT LAUNCHES Child Wellbeing Benefits Program
- Registrations Underway for Child Wellbeing Beneficiaries
- Samoa monetary poverty assessment 2023
- The Situation of Children in Samoa
- 2026 Article IV Consultation for Samoa: IMF Staff Concluding Statement
- 2023/2024 Budget Address: “Advancing growth through sustainable pathways conducive to socio-economic welfare and building resilience”
- District Development Funds — Facts, Accountability and Support for Samoan Families
- Government Delivers on Key Social Commitments from 1 July 2026
- Under way
SAT$1 million each for care NGOs
NGO grants rose from SAT$2.6m to SAT$10.9m, but the four SAT$1m awards are not shown.
Good for aigaRead more
- Promised
- SAT$1 million each for the Samoa Victim Support Group, ADRA, health-care NGOs collectively, and a group of care institutions including Mapuifagalele, Mapuipulotu in Savai'i, NOLA and Goshen Trust 1. No start date was given 1.
- What happened
- The 2025/26 budget, tabled 6 October 2025, raised support for NGOs from SAT$2.6 million to SAT$8.97 million, with annual assistance of SAT$100,000 each for the Mapuifagalele and Mapuipulotu aged-care homes 2. The 2026/27 budget address of May 2026 raised the NGO allocation to SAT$10.9 million, giving the previous year's figure as SAT$7.7 million; the grants it lists do not show four separate SAT$1 million awards 3.
- Impact on families
- The government reported that basic shelters built under a programme implemented by ADRA Samoa had reached 306 families in 141 villages by October 2025 2, and that the shelter initiative had reached 342 families by May 2026 3. These are cumulative programme claims, not an independent evaluation. The grant list by organisation in the budget estimates would show whether the named groups got SAT$1 million each. The 306-family figure was reported on 6 October 2025, three weeks after the government took office, so it reflects work funded before it 2.
- Cost
- SAT$4m a year if the four SAT$1m awards were paid (our arithmetic); total NGO support is SAT$10.9m in 2026/27, under 1% of budget receipts 3.
- Verdict for families
- Good for aiga
- Can it be done?
- Doable
- Long term
- Good long term
- Who deserves the credit
-
Shared credit
The rise in NGO grants from SAT$2.6 million to SAT$8.97 million, then to SAT$10.9 million (the 2026/27 address puts the prior year at SAT$7.7 million), is this government's budget decision; the SAT$2.6 million base was already paid under the previous government 23. The ADRA shelter count of 306 families was reported in a budget tabled three weeks after this government took office, so most of those shelters were built under the earlier government and the new money cannot have paid for them 2.
- Who gains
- Victims of violence, residents of aged-care homes and people with disabilities served by the named groups; the two aged-care homes got SAT$100,000 a year each 2.
- Who pays
- The budget, a small sum; the four groups were promised SAT$1m each and the grants listed are smaller 3.
- Assessment
- The named groups run shelters, aged care and disability services that the state does not, so grants to them buy services for vulnerable people cheaply 1. The cost is small: total NGO support rose from SAT$2.6m to SAT$10.9m, and the SAT$4m promised is a fraction of receipts 23. The shelter programme reached 342 families by May 2026, a government claim rather than an evaluation 3. The risk is not cost but accountability: without a published grant list by organisation, nobody can see whether the promised SAT$1m each was paid or what it bought.
Sources (3)
- Laaulialemalietoa Secures his Seat with Ease as FAST Numbers Start to Stack Up
- Minister of Finance Tables $1.24bn Talā Peoples Budget
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- No sign yet
Monthly allowance for pregnant women
No pregnancy payment in either budget; the child benefit starts at birth.
Good for aigaRead more
- Promised
- A monthly allowance for pregnant women 1, with free medical visits and medication for pregnant women 6. The manifesto package was described as starting in pregnancy 2. No amount or start date was confirmed in the reporting 1.
- What happened
- Neither the 2025/26 budget tabled 6 October 2025 nor the 2026/27 budget address of May 2026 funds a standalone pregnancy allowance 34. The Child Wellbeing Benefit begins with a one-off SAT$200 baby bonus, not a payment during pregnancy 4.
- Impact on families
- No pregnancy payment exists, so there is nothing to measure. A budget line for a pregnancy allowance and a count of mothers paid would show delivery.
- Cost
- Not costed. FAST gave no amount 1.
- Verdict for families
- Good for aiga
- Can it be done?
- Doable
- Long term
- Too early to tell
- Who gains
- If paid, pregnant women; no amount was given, so the gain cannot be sized 1.
- Who pays
- No one yet; the government chose to start family support at birth with the SAT$200 payment instead 4.
- Assessment
- A pregnancy allowance would reach young families, and people under 25 made up over 60% of those below the poverty line in 2023 5. At any rate near the child benefit's SAT$100 a month it would cost a fraction of that scheme's SAT$20m, so money is not the obstacle 4. Whether it does lasting good depends on a design nobody has published: tied to antenatal visits it would support maternal health, as a flat payment it is a small cash transfer. The government chose instead to start support at birth 4.
Sources (6)
- Samoa election: Political parties make big promises on health, welfare and economy
- FAST Party Manifesto Centres on the Family Unit
- Minister of Finance Tables $1.24bn Talā Peoples Budget
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- Samoa monetary poverty assessment 2023
- What the three major parties are promising Samoa
- No sign yet
Cash top-ups for families earning under SAT$20,000
No means-tested top-up in either budget.
Good for aigaRead more
- Promised
- Cash top-ups for families earning less than SAT$20,000 a year 1. No amount or start date was reported 1.
- What happened
- Neither the 2025/26 budget tabled 6 October 2025 nor the 2026/27 budget address of May 2026 includes a means-tested cash top-up for low-income families 23. The May 2026 address kept income-tax rates unchanged and set up no payment tied to household income 3.
- Impact on families
- No top-up has been paid, so there is nothing to measure. A budget line, an income test and a count of households paid would show delivery.
- Cost
- Not costed. FAST gave no amount or household count 1.
- Verdict for families
- Good for aiga
- Can it be done?
- A stretch
- Long term
- Good long term
- Who gains
- Families earning under SAT$20,000 a year, which would include the 15.2% of people below the basic-needs line, if an amount were set 14.
- Who pays
- No one yet; low-income families wait while the government's cash went to flat-rate pensions and child payments 3.
- Assessment
- This is the one FAST cash promise aimed at the poor rather than at an age group: 15.2% of people were below the basic-needs line of SAT$4,222.62 per adult equivalent a year in 2023 4. A means-tested top-up is the kind of targeted support the IMF asked for 5. It is a stretch because Samoa has no register of household income, most work is informal and remittances are uneven, so an income test would have to be built before anyone could be paid. The government's new cash went to flat-rate pensions and child payments instead 3.
Sources (5)
- Samoa election: Political parties make big promises on health, welfare and economy
- Minister of Finance Tables $1.24bn Talā Peoples Budget
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- Samoa monetary poverty assessment 2023
- 2026 Article IV Consultation for Samoa: IMF Staff Concluding Statement
- No sign yet
SNPF members able to borrow up to 75% of savings
SNPF still lends up to 50% of a member's balance.
Cuts both waysRead more
- Promised
- Review Samoa National Provident Fund conditions so members can borrow up to 75% of their retirement funds, and consolidate members' loans to lower interest rates 1. No start date was given 1.
- What happened
- SNPF's lending page describes a small loan of up to 50% of a member's contribution balance 2. Its member guide refers to funding a pension from 75% of net contributions, which is a different rule from borrowing 75% 3. No loan consolidation product is listed 2.
- Impact on families
- No rule change, so no member has borrowed more. Letting members borrow more of their retirement savings would raise cash now and lower what they retire on, which is why this lands as mixed. SNPF's published loan limits and loan book would show any change.
- Cost
- No budget cost; the money is members' own savings 2.
- Verdict for families
- Cuts both ways
- Can it be done?
- Doable
- Long term
- Bad long term
- Who gains
- Members with a balance, who could borrow a further 25% of it in cash now 2.
- Who pays
- The same members at retirement, who would have less saved, and the senior pension budget if more old people depend on it 24.
- Assessment
- Members get cash now and retire on less: SNPF already lends up to 50% of a balance, and raising that to 75% means a member who borrows the maximum keeps a quarter of their savings for old age 2. The state senior benefit of SAT$300 a month then has to carry more of their retirement income 4. Higher loan ceilings also raise the fund's exposure to defaults, which falls on every member's return. Loan consolidation at lower interest, the other half of the promise, would help indebted members without that cost 1.
Sources (4)
- Laaulialemalietoa Secures his Seat with Ease as FAST Numbers Start to Stack Up
- Our Lending Products
- Member Guide
- Senior Citizens Benefit Fund
- No sign yet
Return 30% of ACC contributions
No refund in either budget.
Cuts both waysRead more
- Promised
- Return 30% of contributors' Accident Compensation Corporation contributions 1. No start date was given 1.
- What happened
- Neither the 2025/26 budget tabled 6 October 2025 nor the 2026/27 budget address of May 2026 mentions an ACC contribution refund 23.
- Impact on families
- No refund has been paid, so there is nothing to measure. An ACC announcement with the refund rule and a count of contributors paid would show delivery.
- Cost
- Not costed. No figure for ACC contributions or the refund was published 1.
- Verdict for families
- Cuts both ways
- Can it be done?
- A stretch
- Long term
- Bad long term
- Who gains
- Formal-sector workers and employers who pay ACC levies, a one-off 30% back 1.
- Who pays
- The ACC fund that pays injury claims, and workers outside formal employment who pay no levy and would get nothing 1.
- Assessment
- ACC levies fund compensation for people injured at work and on the roads, so refunding 30% of them draws down the fund that pays claims; that is our reasoning, as no actuarial figure has been published 1. Only formal-sector workers and employers pay the levy, so the refund would go to people in paid jobs and miss farmers, informal workers and the poorest households. The government has not budgeted for it in two budgets 23.
Sources (3)
- Laaulialemalietoa Secures his Seat with Ease as FAST Numbers Start to Stack Up
- Minister of Finance Tables $1.24bn Talā Peoples Budget
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- No sign yet
Raise the retirement age from 55 to 65
SNPF guidance still gives retirement options at 55.
Cuts both waysRead more
- Promised
- Raise the retirement age from 55 to 65 1. The reporting does not say which rule this meant: SNPF members can take their savings from 55 2, while the government senior benefit starts at 65 3.
- What happened
- SNPF's member FAQs still set out withdrawal and pension options at the retirement age of 55 2. The Senior Citizens Benefit remains payable from 65 3. No change to either age was found 23.
- Impact on families
- No change, so no one's access to savings has moved. Raising the SNPF age would delay members' access to their own savings by up to ten years, which is why this lands as mixed. An SNPF rule change would show it.
- Cost
- No budget cost; it changes when SNPF members can take their own savings 2.
- Verdict for families
- Cuts both ways
- Can it be done?
- Doable
- Long term
- Mixed long term
- Who gains
- Members who keep working, with ten more years of contributions and a larger balance at 65 2.
- Who pays
- Workers in physical jobs who wanted their savings at 55, and young job-seekers if older workers stay on 2.
- Assessment
- Ten more years of contributions would leave members with larger balances at 65 and fewer years to stretch them, which is good for retirement income 2. Against that, workers in physical jobs lose access to their own savings at 55, and keeping older workers on could close openings for the young, where the 2022 labour force survey put youth unemployment at 13.4% 4. The IMF reported labour shortages from migration, which cuts the other way 5. It needs only a law change, so it is doable; the balance of effects is mixed.
Sources (5)
- Samoa election: Political parties make big promises on health, welfare and economy
- Member FAQs
- Senior Citizens Benefit Fund
- 2022 Samoa Labour Force and Child Labour Survey
- IMF Executive Board Concludes 2026 Article IV Consultation with Samoa
Projects in this area
- Delayed
Child Wellbeing Benefit
Read more
- What it is
- A SAT$200 birth payment and SAT$100 monthly benefit for children aged 0 to 35 months was set to take effect on 1 July 2026; the scheme was launched on 31 July, registration opened on 21 September and the first payments are scheduled for January 2027. 123
- Planning
- The 2026/27 budget allocated SAT$20m and set the period from July 2026 to January 2027 for the Samoa National Provident Fund and the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs to complete legislative amendments, system upgrades and beneficiary registration and verification. 1 Registration runs from 21 September to 30 November 2026, and each payment is tied to an immunisation check. 3
- Result
- No payment had been made by 19 October 2026; first disbursements are scheduled for January 2027, backdated to 1 July 2026 for children registered by 30 November. 13 Registration began in Savai'i: 1,102 children from the island's 20 districts had registered out of an estimated 3,458 eligible in the week of 14 to 19 September. 4 Registered births were 8,034 in 2023, 5,725 in 2024 and 5,278 in 2025, so roughly 15,000 to 17,000 children under three could qualify, and SAT$1,200 a year each plus the birth payment would use roughly the SAT$20m allocated; that is our arithmetic, not a government costing. 15 This is the current government's own scheme. 3 It is targeted at young children and tied to immunisation, so poorer families gain most if the systems pay on time; the SAT$20m is about 1.6% of the SAT$1,284.7m of ordinary receipts budgeted for 2026/27. 1
- Cost
- SAT$20m allocated for 2026/27
- Funded by
- Government of Samoa
- Visibility
- Rates and dates are published. No payment results report exists yet, and the ministry's registration counts cover only Savai'i's 20 districts. 14
Sources (5)
- Minister of Finance Hon Mulipola Anarosa Budget Address 2026/2027
- District Development Funds — Facts, Accountability and Support for Samoan Families
- GOVT LAUNCHES Child Wellbeing Benefits Program
- Registrations Underway for Child Wellbeing Beneficiaries
- Statistical Abstract 2025
What FAST did in 2021 to 2025
- 14 September 2021Unclear
FAST's first budget, delivered 14 September 2021, raised the Senior Citizens Benefit from SAT$160 to SAT$200 a month and allocated SAT$33,388,308 to the scheme 12.
Sources (2)
- Budget Address 2021/2022
- Samoa Government Budget Address 2021/2022
- 2021 to 2024Unclear
The 2021/22 budget provided SAT$3 million for a new Disability Benefit Scheme 1. The scheme began in 2021 at SAT$100 a month for registered people with disabilities; the SNPF's Disability Benefit Fund pays it, and the National Provident Fund Amendment Act 2023 moved payment into the SNPF system 23. The 2023/24 budget address said the benefit had reached 1,820 people 4, and 2,556 people were registered by March 2024 3.
Sources (4)
- Budget Address 2021/2022
- Disability Benefit Fund
- Beijing +30 Samoa National Report: Implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) 2024
- 2023/2024 Budget Address: “Advancing growth through sustainable pathways conducive to socio-economic welfare and building resilience”
- 2022/23Unclear
One-off top-ups of SAT$150 to the pension and SAT$100 to the disability benefit were paid in the last quarter of 2022/23 under the first supplementary budget, as reported in the 2023/24 budget address 1. That supplementary budget was presented on 20 December 2022 2.
Sources (2)
- 2023/2024 Budget Address: “Advancing growth through sustainable pathways conducive to socio-economic welfare and building resilience”
- Finance Minister Presents $13.9 Million Tala First Supplementary Budget for 2022/2023
- 2021 to 2025Unclear
A 20% cut in Upolu to Savai'i passenger ferry fares, announced in the 2021/22 budget, took effect on 15 November 2021; it did not apply to vehicles or to the Pago Pago route 1. The government's 2024 Beijing+30 report said free ferry travel between the two main islands for people with disabilities was "envisaged to come into effect by December 2024"; no confirmation that it started was found 2.
Sources (2)
- Samoa Shipping Corporation Announces 20% Drop in Passenger Fares
- Beijing +30 Samoa National Report: Implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) 2024