Statistics for last year indicate that there is a steady increase in the number of Old Age Pensioners. At the end of December there were 46,Rony Lopes Manchester City Jersey,272 pensioners in 2011 as compared to 42,536 in 2010 representing an additional 3,736 persons being approved to receive old age pension.Recent years have witnessed a rapid increase in the amounts paid by Government under the Old Age Pension and Public Assistance Programmes.From 2011,Aleksandar Kolarov Manchester City Jersey, old age pension was raised to $6,600 per month, while public assistance was $4,Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Dortmund Shirts,900 per month.It was reported that under these programmes, more than 50,Karim Rekik Jersey,000 elderly and otherwise vulnerable beneficiaries are expected to receive direct income support on a monthly basis.According to reports,Carlos Salcido Jersey, given the income and expenditure profile of the beneficiaries,Javier Pastore Argentina Jersey, almost all of the amounts disbursed are transmitted immediately into the domestic economy through consumption of goods and services.In addition to other initiatives, such as the water rates assistance programme, under which Government provides financial support to meet water charges on behalf of old age pensioners, the staggered electricity tariff structure which sees household consumers of small amounts of electricity below a specified monthly threshold being billed at a concessional rate, there is the Government’s residential programme for the elderly such as at the Palms, along with the several public health care programmes aimed at enhancing and improving the scope and quality of services offered by the public health care system thereby contributing to improved quality of life.