Social Security Benefits (Monthly Cash Assistance Programme)
Basic Information
Country
Geographic area
Institutions and agencies involved
Population group
Children, Persons with disabilities
Programme Details
Programme objectives
Income support for vulnerable groups of people in Oman.
Government of Oman. n.d. “Social Services: Social Cases.” Official Oman e-government services portal. Accessed 27 November 2023. >https://goo.gl/AH9LL4>. In Arabic.
Programme components
Cash transfers; Fee reductions and exemptions; travel assistance; health and education support
Government of Oman. n.d. “Social Services: Social Cases.” Official Oman e-government services portal. Accessed 24 July 2017. >https://goo.gl/AH9LL4>. In Arabic.
Start date
1984
Government of Oman. 1984. Royal Decree 1984/87, Issuing the Social Security Law.
Muscat: Government of Oman. Accessed 24 July 2017. <https://goo.gl/y2ZrDE>. In Arabic.
Coverage
84,644 individuals in 2015: 39.3 per cent elderly people; 31.3 per cent individuals
with disabilities; 14.4 per cent divorced; 3.4 per cent orphans; 7.8 per cent widowed;
2.7 per cent unmarried girls; 0.3 per cent prisoners’ families; 0.3 per cent
abandoned women
Government of Oman. 2016. Social Indicators. Muscat: Ministry of Social
Development. Accessed 24 July 2017. <https://goo.gl/h4pYBg>. In Arabic.
Programme expenditure
USD337 million in 2013
Source of funding: Government
UN ESCWA. 2015. Social protection and development: national social protection and
insurance programs in Oman. Beirut: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
Western Asia. Accessed 24 July 2017. <https://www.unescwa.org/sites/www.unescwa.
org/files/publications/files/oman-social-protection-country-profile-arabic.pdf>. In Arabic.
Targeting and eligiblity
Targeting methods
Means Test
Categorical Targeting
ILO. 2013. Social Security Department (SESOC)—Social Welfare: Oman. Geneva:
International Labour Organization. Accessed 27 July 2017. <http://www.ilo.org/dyn/
ilossi/ssimain.viewScheme?p_lang=en&p_scheme_id=2701&p_geoaid=512>.
Targeted areas
Nationwide
Government of Oman. n.d. “Social Services: Social Cases.” Official Oman e-government
services portal. Accessed 24 July 2017. >https://goo.gl/AH9LL4>. In Arabic.
Target groups
Orphans; elderly people; widows; people with disabilities; divorced women; unmarried
girls; prisoners’ families; abandoned families with no immediate family member
(father/son/brother) to provide support; if the husband has more than one wife,
each of them is entitled to a widow’s pension
Government of Oman. 1984. Royal Decree 1984/87, Issuing the Social Security Law.
Muscat: Government of Oman. Accessed 24 July 2017. <https://goo.gl/y2ZrDE>. In Arabic.
UN ESCWA. 2015. Social protection and development: national social protection and
insurance programs in Oman. Beirut: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
Western Asia. Accessed 24 July 2017. <https://www.unescwa.org/sites/www.unescwa.
org/files/publications/files/oman-social-protection-country-profile-arabic.pdf>. In Arabic
Eligibility criteria
Omani people and families who live in or beyond the Sultanate without a reliable source of income or employment. Orphans, widows, divorcees, single women, families of convicts, people with disabilities, abandoned women, old citizens, and other groups are among them
Government of Oman. n.d. “Social Services: Social Cases.” Official Oman e-government services portal. Accessed 27 November 2023. <https://goo.gl/AH9LL4>. In Arabic.
Eligibility reassessment (if any)
Social assessment at least once a year
Government of Oman. 1984. Royal Decree 1984/87, Issuing the Social Security Law.
Muscat: Government of Oman. Accessed 24 July 2017. <https://goo.gl/y2ZrDE>. In Arabic.
Coverage and other information
Type of benefits
Cash
Government of Oman. n.d. “Social Services: Social Cases.” Official Oman e-government
services portal. Accessed 24 July 2017. >https://goo.gl/AH9LL4>. In Arabic.
Amount of benefits
Benefits vary according to the number of household members, ranging from OMR80
for one person to OMR264 for a household with 10 people
Government of Oman. 1984. Royal Decree 1984/87, Issuing the Social Security Law.
Muscat: Government of Oman. Accessed 24 July 2017. <https://goo.gl/y2ZrDE>. In Arabic
Payment/delivery frequency
Monthly
Government of Oman. 1984. Royal Decree 1984/87, Issuing the Social Security Law.
Muscat: Government of Oman. Accessed 24 July 2017. <https://goo.gl/y2ZrDE>. In Arabic.
Benefit recipients
Beneficiary or a representative
Government of Oman. 1984. Royal Decree 1984/87, Issuing the Social Security Law.
Muscat: Government of Oman. Accessed 24 July 2017. <https://goo.gl/y2ZrDE>. In Arabic.
Legal Framework
Royal Decree 84/87 Issuing the Social Security Law (1984)
Government of Oman. 1984. Royal Decree 1984/87, Issuing the Social Security Law.
Muscat: Government of Oman. Accessed 24 July 2017. <https://goo.gl/y2ZrDE>. In Arabic.
