Safety Net and Pandemic: The State of Social Benefit Payments during COVID-19

This paper summarises findings from a relatively large rapid phone survey to understand socio-economic dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic on safety-net beneficiaries in Bangladesh. We surveyed 7,338 beneficiaries of two government safety-net transfer programs – Old Age Allowance and Widow Allowance – supported under the Department of Social Services. Our analysis suggests that beneficiaries of these programs suffered significantly during the COVID-19 induced mobility restrictions, with 51 per cent of our respondents forced to reduce medication consumption and 22 per cent forced to reduce food consumption (based on a one-week recall period of the rapid phone survey). The median household reported having earned zero income in the two weeks prior to the survey. While the timely payment of benefits is crucial during crises of such scale, 41 per cent of beneficiaries reported not being paid the full benefit amount, despite such payments being due before the COVID lockdown. Our estimates also demonstrate that those who had access to digital safety-net payments were more likely to receive transfers in a timely manner and suffered lower consumption and income vulnerability. These findings highlight the importance of regular and timely disbursement of safety-net payments, which ensure food security and serve as a basic consumption smoothing tool for vulnerable populations. Widespread adoption of digital financial services, such as mobile money, could work as a viable platform to ensure that payments are transferred on time to safety-net beneficiaries.