PETALING JAYA: Beginning next year, housewives and stay-at-home dads below 55 will be protected by the proposed Social Security Organisation’s (Socso) Housewife Social Safety Scheme (SKSSR), says Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.

       The Human Resource Minister said SKSSR would serve as a social safety net by providing disability and invalidity protection to the two groups.

       “The implementation of SKSSR should be made as a social security agenda for housewives who are not protected if they are involved in accidents in the home or suffer from a disability, where their housework has economic value in the family institution development or Care Economy.

       “Socso will implement the scheme from January 2022,” he said in a statement yesterday.

       Apart from covering full-time, non-working and part-time housewives, he said SKSSR would also be open to non-working full-time stay-at-home fathers.

       To further benefit the vulnerable, he said the government would cover the contributions of housewives from households below the poverty line, such as those registered under e-Kasih.

       “Full-time, non-working housewives, whose contributions are paid by the government, are estimated to (cover) around 150,000 people in the first year of SKSSR implementation,” said Saravanan.

       He added that participation in the scheme was voluntary.

       “This is so that their welfare, especially those who are not working, is protected subject to specified conditions,” he said.

       Under SKSSR, participants’ contribution is RM10 a month, which can be made in advance or pre-paid for a period of 12 consecutive months.

       “Part-time housewives such as working women or self-employed women who participate voluntarily, in accordance with certain conditions, are subject to the ‘once in, always in’ concept, where the contributions can be paid by themselves or their spouses,” Saravanan added.

       The protections and benefits offered by SKSSR include permanent disablement benefit invalidity pension, medical benefits, survivor’s pension and constant-attendance allowance.

       Also provided are facilities for physical or vocational rehabilitation and funeral benefits.