Elderly beneficiaries in families receiving Aswasuma support can collect their monthly allowance from local post offices between April 9 and April 11, the National Secretariat for Elders said on Thursday, timing the payments to coincide with the Sinhala and Tamil New Year.
The scheme covers individuals over the age of 70 who belong to households enrolled in the Aswasuma social protection programme. Secretariat Director K. Chathura Mihidum said payments will be processed at the recipient’s local post office during the three-day window.
From June 2026, all Aswasuma allowances will be disbursed exclusively through bank accounts, ending the post-office collection route. The change is part of a broader government push to digitise welfare payments and channel state transfers through formal banking and QR-based infrastructure, mirroring similar transitions underway in the tea fertilizer subsidy programme and the LankaQR merchant waiver.
Aswasuma is Sri Lanka’s flagship cash transfer programme for low-income households and was one of the pillars of the Rs. 100 billion relief package announced by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake earlier this week, which topped up support for elderly and vulnerable beneficiaries amid the fallout from the Middle East energy shock.
