samoagovt.ws (07.04.2020) A special payment of $300 tala per person for all pensioners under the Senior Citizens Benefit Fund on top of the normal pension. A date for this special pay-out will be announced in due course.

samoagovt.ws (07.04.2020) 20% early withdrawal for members in the Hospitality sector who have lost employment due to COVID-19. Subject to certain conditions, members in the affected sector to be allowed: a) member loans offset from contributions b) Early withdrawal of either: 20% of net contributions OR $4000 tala, whichever is lesser. c) Other Terms and Conditions apply for eligibility

GroundUp (29.04.2020) Introducing the new “Covid-19 grant” announced by President Cyril Ramphosa will pose a huge challenge. But South Africa can learn from Namibia, which introduced an emergency grant at the beginning of April and within three weeks had paid out nearly 580,000 people. The Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant of R350 per month, together with the R500 per month supplement to each Child Support Grant (CSG) recipient, provides for the first time a social safety net for able-bodied working-age adults.

World Economic Forum (30.04.2020) Pakistan's government are offering labourers, who are out of work due to the coronavirus lockdown, a chance to earn money by planting trees. The project is part of Pakistan's existing initiative to plant billions of trees to counter the effects of climate change.

samoagovt.ws (07.04.2020) Six-month moratorium on contribution payments for Hospitality Sector Employers in the hospitality sector will be permitted to postpone their contributions payments for the six-month period January to June 2020 to be payable only in July 2020. The total value of this assistance is $2.6 million tala.

Additional Measures of Social Support for Families with Children

The amendments specify and complement clauses of the Executive Order On Additional Measures of Social Support for Families with Children concerning monthly payments to such families, as well as the introduction of additional one-off payment for each child aged between 3 and 16.

news.bloombergtax.com (05.05.2020) The Russian Federal Tax Service April 20 announced reduced insurance contribution rates for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), effective April 1.

112.international (08.04.2020) In Ukraine, pensioners who have reached 80 years of age will be paid compensation for pensions in April. This was reported by the press service of Ukraine’s Pension Fund. Payment in the amount of up to 18 dollars commenced on April 7. "From April 1, 2020, pensioners who are 80 years of age or older are entitled to a monthly compensation payment of up to 500 hryvnias (18 dollars). Pension supplements will be paid to pensioners whose pension does not exceed 9205 hryvnias (339 dollars).

gestion.pe (26.03.2020) El presidente Martín Vizcarra anunció que se suspenderá el aporte a las Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones (AFP) durante el mes de abril, ante la ampliación del estado de emergencia en el Perú para frenar los contagios de coronavirus.

ssa.gov (April 2020) The government deferred the due date for employers' social security contributions: those originally due in March are now due in July, while those due in April are now due in September. (Employers contribute 20 percent of monthly covered payroll to finance OASDI programs, cash sickness and maternity benefits, and family allowances.)