27 November 1992
Ref. folic (92)
John Marek Esq MP
HKA 016/1
House of Commons
London SW1A OAA
Foreign & Commonwealth
Office
London SWIA 2AH
From The Minister of State
Dear John,
HONG KONG CHINESE CIVIL SERVANT' ASSOCIATION
292
Thank you for your letter of 20 November about the concerns of the Hong Kong Chinese Civil Servants' Association (HKCCSA) over the security of their pensions after 1997.
As you know, I met Mr Wong and Mr Tang from the Association on 19 November and was able to hear their concerns at first hand. They are aware that the Joint Declaration (JD) and the Basic Law contain important provisions requiring the Special Administrative Region Government (SARG) to continue to pay pensions after 1997 on terms no less favourable than before; and also that pensions are now a statutory right and charge on the general revenue. It was evident from their discussions with me and with other officials that they are not concerned that the SARG will fail to honour the provisions in the JD and Basic Law, but rather that the SARG may get into such financial difficulty that the government cannot afford to pay pensions from general revenue. The HKCCSA and other staff associations have therefore proposed the establishment of a pensions reserve fund capable of funding pensions for a period of 5 years.
Both HMG and the Hong Kong government recognise that this is an issue of concern to many civil servants. However, it is almost inconceivable that the Hong Kong Government or the SARG would ever be in a position where they could no longer afford to pay pensions, which at present constitute only 3-4% of general revenue.
To set up a pension reserve fund along the lines proposed by the HKCCSA would require a sum of about HK$15 billion to be set aside from the Hong Kong Government's reserves
/and placed into
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