The RSA will be partially paid in the form of a prepaid card

Although some thought it was an April Fool’s joke, the active solidarity income (RSA) reform by the Collectivité for its territory is real. Authorized by the State, it was able to modify the eligibility criteria for the benefit after having already imposed a 30% levy. Last Thursday, the elected officials gathered in plenary have thus voted new criteria for foreigners who receive the RSA; citizens from a country of the European Union, mainly, are entitled to receive it in the Saint-Martin territory.

The Collectivité decided to go even further in its reform by wishing also to modify the conditions for the payment of the benefit in order to limit "the currency leakage."

"The porosity between Sint Maarten and Saint-Martin fosters a significant leakage of the sums spent by the Collectivité on RSA benefits. Similarly, it turns out that the significant RSA financial transfers for benefits received by people from the Caribbean arc islands are regularly transferred to these same territories, thereby depriving the Saint-Martin economic fabric of part of its wealth", observed the Collectivité. Therefore, it would like to limit these money transfers by introducing "a partial demonetisation of the RSA".

Starting from January 2017, part of the benefit will be paid using a "prepaid card or social card" according to the principle of the customised welfare check for certain benefits.

Although this principle was voted last Thursday by the Territorial Council, they will still have to decide on the percentage of the part which will thus be "demonetised."