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Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, to a question by the Hon Wong Ting-kwong on the retirement age in the Legislative Council today (April 16):
Question:
It has been reported that Hong Kong is facing the problem of ageing population and the Government will study whether or not the existing retirement age of 55 to 60 should be raised, with a view to improving the ratio of the labour force to the elderly population. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) when the above study will commence and is estimated to complete, as well as the specific contents of the study;
(b) whether it will publish the outcome of the above study and conduct a public consultation exercise; if so, of the specific consultation work; if not, the reasons for that;
(c) given that a number of Asian countries will raise the national retirement age from 60 to 65 or 67, whether the authorities will consider raising the retirement age in Hong Kong to 65 or above; and
(d) apart from conducting a study on raising the retirement age, what other studies the authorities are currently conducting or will conduct and the proactive ways they are adopting or will adopt to resolve the problem of ageing population?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a)-(c) There is currently no mandatory retirement age in Hong Kong. Employees and employers are free to negotiate on a mutually agreed basis for a suitable retirement age, same as other terms and conditions of employment, when they enter into an employment contract. Employers are also free to recruit or continue to employ elderly people.
The present arrangement allows flexibility and suits the needs of different employers and employees having regard to the market situation and we have no plan to change it. In any case, any change to the existing arrangement will have to be fully discussed by the community, as well as thoroughly and carefully examined in the light of the socio-economic circumstances and developmental needs of Hong Kong.
The present retirement age of the civil service has been set, after taking into account all relevant factors including the impact on civil service manpower planning, public finance, promotion prospects of the lower ranks and employment prospects of young workers. We have no plan at present to change the retirement age in the civil service.
(d) As reported to the Legislative Council House Committee in October 2007 following the announcement of the Chief Executive's 2007-08 Policy Address, the Government is well aware of the social and economic challenges arising from changes to the local population profile in the next 30 years, including an ageing population, and is taking steps to meet such challenges. On-going efforts include:
¡Ð¡@attracting a larger pool of talented people from the Mainland and overseas to improve our population structure;
¡Ð¡@raising the education level of our labour force and enhancing the skills and competitiveness of people of all ages through training and retraining and lifelong learning to increase our per capita productivity;
¡Ð¡@increasing public resources for healthcare while reforming our healthcare system to ensure long-term sustainability. In this regard, the first stage of the public consultation on healthcare reform is currently underway;
¡Ð¡@strengthening our support to the elderly through provision of subsidised day care, residential care and infirmary places, as well as home care services; and
¡Ð¡@promoting healthy and active ageing and facilitating more diverse choice in post-retirement life so that healthy seniors would remain a resource to their families and the community.
The Government will continue to do its best to develop strategies and practical measures to meet the challenges arising from an ageing population and maintain Hong Kong's competitiveness and vitality.
Ends/Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Issued at HKT 12:20
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