requirements of the Social Security Act 1973, subsequently reinforced by the Social Security Pensions Act 1975. It is accepted by the major political parties, CSD say, that an employee has a right to any superannuation benefits which have accrued to him under an occupational scheme and the 5 year qualifying period, after which benefits cannot be taken in cash form must be preserved, is enshrined in the legislation. While the first part of this is clearly a universal principle which we would not question, it is questionable whether preservation in the Hong Kong situation should be the natural corollary of that principle and whether it would be of any benefit either to the Hong Kong Government or to the individual officer. In our view the desire of most officers who resign to draw a short service gratuity together with our desire to avoid building up a long deferred pension liability outweigh any general welfare considerations, so far unstated.
7. To sum up, we can see no advantage in Hong Kong following the UK practice of 'freezing pensions since it appears to be in no way appropriate to Hong Kong's circumstances. It will merely add to the administrative burden and long term pension commitment, and will not retain staff.
CARRINGTON