********************************
Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, to a question by the Hon Starry Lee on assistance for the elders in the Legislative Council today (October 22):
Question:
Employers generally set the retirement age for their staff at 60 but the elderly people must reach the age of 65 before they can apply for senior citizen card, and they will not be granted health care vouchers or the non-means-tested Higher Old Age Allowance ("HOAA") until they are 70. Under such situation, some grass-root elderly people with a small amount of savings, and therefore not eligible for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA"), have to live solely on their savings for several years after their retirement at 60, and they cannot even enjoy the concessions offered by government departments, public organisations and commercial establishments to senior citizen card holders. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the specific measures in place to assist those grass-root elderly people who are aged above 60 but not eligible for CSSA in improving their livelihood;
(b) whether it will review the existing policy and set the minimum age requirement for recipients of elderly welfare schemes at 60 across the board; if it will, of the details and the additional public funds involved each year; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) whether it will, in addition to the existing HOAA and CSSA Scheme, consider implementing an "elderly maintenance grant scheme" so that those elderly people who are aged 60 but not eligible for CSSA will receive a certain sum of living supplement each month after passing a simple means test; if it will, of the details and the annual amount of public funds involved in implementing the scheme if the living supplement is set at $1,200 per month; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Currently, there is no mandatory retirement age in Hong Kong. Employees and employers are free to negotiate, on a mutual agreement basis, a suitable retirement age, same as for other terms and conditions of employment, when they enter into an employment contract.
My replies to the specific questions are set out below:
(a) To ensure the sustainable development of our existing non-contributory social security and welfare system, the Government should direct resources to the elderly in genuine need. For the elderly who cannot support themselves financially, the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance (CSSA) Scheme has already provided an effective safety net for them to meet their basic needs. As for the elderly who are not eligible for CSSA, the Government has been providing a monthly allowance through the Social Security Allowance Scheme (including Old Age Allowance and Disability Allowance) to Hong Kong residents who are 65 years of age or above, or who are severely disabled, to meet their special needs arising from old age or disability. The Government also provides assistance on their livelihood through other measures, including the provision of elderly services and food assistance.
(b) Over the years, the Government has invested significantly in providing both non-contributory financial assistance and a range of highly subsidised services for the elderly. These assistance and services have different aims, target recipients and eligibility criteria, and many of them would serve elderly people aged over 60. Standardising the eligibility age for all assistance and services across the board may not be the best approach.
(c) The Government has no intention of implementing such a scheme at this stage as we consider that we should target limited public resources to help those elderly in genuine need.
Ends/Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Issued at HKT 12:27
NNNN
