CCF rolls out "Incentive Scheme to Further Encourage CSSA Recipients of the Integrated Employment Assistance Programme for Self-reliance to Secure Employment"
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The following is issued on behalf of the Community Care Fund Secretariat:

     The Community Care Fund (CCF) announced today (March 31) that the "Incentive Scheme to Further Encourage CSSA Recipients of the Integrated Employment Assistance Programme for Self-reliance (IEAPS) to Secure Employment" will be rolled out tomorrow (April 1). It is a three-year pilot scheme which aims to further encourage able-bodied Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients to secure employment and leave the CSSA net by accumulating part of their income from employment as incentive payment.

     The scheme will be implemented by the Social Welfare Department (SWD). Under the scheme, CSSA recipients working not less than 120 hours and earning more than $4,200 a month will not only benefit from the existing disregarded earnings, but will also be provided with an incentive grant if their accumulative earnings above the prescribed disregarded earnings limit reach the incentive target (i.e. two times the asset limit of the household). The recipients will leave the CSSA net upon receipt of the full incentive grant from the CCF in one go. Recipients whose accumulative earnings reach or exceed 1.5 times the asset limit of the household at the expiry of the scheme can still receive the incentive grant accumulated throughout the scheme.

     Around 2 050 able-bodied CSSA recipients of the IEAPS have been selected randomly to participate in the scheme. The non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating IEAPS projects have been commissioned to assist in the implementation of the scheme.

     For enquiries, please call the SWD hotline at 2343 2255 or contact the NGOs operating IEAPS projects. The list of NGOs and details of the scheme are available in the SWD's website (www.swd.gov.hk).

Ends/Monday, March 31, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:00

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