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and to the UK taxpayer.
Early Retirement
12. The 1960 White Paper states that at the time of constitutional
change HMOCS officers should be allowed to retire. The practice has always been to allow retirement with immediate payment of earned pension. Hong Kong HMOCS officers naturally want this right, although some may decide to stay on and work for the Special
Administrative Region Government.
13.
Early retirement with full payment of pension is a matter for
the Hong Kong Government, not HMG. We are discussing the matter with them. If it could be agreed it would make the overall package
substantially more attractive to HMOCS officers. It would also
reduce by up to 30% the contingent liability involved in any HMG funded sterling safeguard.
14. In short, I invite the Committee to agree that:
We should make revised proposals to the HMOCS Association as soon
as possible;
These should be based on traditional arrangements, of a kind we
can justify as meeting honourably our obligations;
- The package should comprise a compensation scheme on traditional
lines with a cap, as proposed in paragraph 9 above; and an HMG-funded sterling safeguard scheme on the lines proposed in
paragraph 11 above;
We should continue to explore with the Hong Kong Government the option of an early retirement scheme;
The arrangements for HMOCS will require separate PES provision
(when the time comes) from 1997 onwards.
D.H.
Foreign and Commonwealth office
cab.maj.ADM
SLM
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