Muscat : While the Social Protection Fund (SPF) opened online registration to avail of childhood and the elderly benefits two weeks ago, it is likely to expand the scope for benefits to more categories such as widows, orphans, people with disabilities, and family supporting income in the coming days.
As of Tuesday, as many as 507,000 people (425,675 children and 81,325 elderly) have done online registration to avail of childhood and the elderly benefits as stated in the Social Protection Law issued by the Royal Decree 52/2023 in July.
But Speaking to the Observer, a few women with no income felt that they should also come under the ambit of the Social Protection Law benefits.
Saada al Numani, a housewife from Al Khuwair, said, "We appreciate the social security benefits announced by the government in recent times; younger women with no income on their own, like me, should be also considered because they may be still a few years away to turn 60. Employed men and women get post-retirement benefits. Widows will also get benefits under the new law, but what about divorcees who are mostly left to struggle to make ends meet, or married women who have to depend on their husbands for every penny? "Single dependent women in the age group 30 to 50 should be made eligible for some benefits, even if they are conditional." Samya Khalaf, a homemaker from Al Amerat, said, "Due to relentless housework and lack of proper rest and care, we develop chronic back and body problems. The so-called domestic engineers (housewives) are never paid or compensated for their selfless service. They contribute to society like doctors, teachers, chefs, cleaners, and others. The Social Protection Fund should help protect them from adverse situations in life.
Article (39) of the Social Protection Law states that a citizen is entitled to the family income support benefit if the following conditions are met — must be resident in the Sultanate of Oman, one of the family members must be Omani, with the exception of the non-Omani widow who has no Omani children, provided that she resides in the Sultanate of Oman continuously after the death of her Omani husband, and the total family income must be less than the level specified in accordance with the provisions and regulations that specify the controls for disbursing the income support benefit for families and group.
Meanwhile, several applicants reported issues such as being unable to update the bank details as required for the fund.
The Social Protection Fund has requested that beneficiaries who face challenges in the registration process or the data not being updated within one hour should contact 800,776,00 during working hours.
Hashim bin Mohammed al Hashemi, Director General of Customer Services at Social Protection Fund (SPF), said that the applicants must register only from the official website and should refrain from following any shared links.
He said that benefits will be disbursed salaries from the end of January 2024, and there is no deadline for registration. "There is no need for children to have an ID because the civil number can be found on the birth certificate," he said. As per the law, an applicant can be entitled to the child benefit and the benefits offered to those with disabilities. SPF said that the bank account is linked to the civil and the phone number, so providing updated details is necessary at the time of application.
The Social Protection Fund has stated that registration for benefits for widows, orphans, people with disabilities, and family income will be opened in the coming days. It may be noted that Article 30 states that a monthly amount of RO 115 will be disbursed starting from the month of reaching 60 years of age if the person fulfils the following conditions — must be Omani, must have reached the age of the elderly, and must be a resident of the Sultanate of Oman. As per Article 37, the childhood benefit will be payable at the rate of RO 10 per month for each child if the conditions are met — must be Omani, must not have reached 18 years of age, and must be a resident of the Sultanate of Oman.
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