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Social Welfare
Social Welfare Financial Assistance
Working Family Allowance Scheme
The Working Family Allowance (WFA) Scheme, administered by the Working Family Allowance Office, aims to relieve the financial burden of low-income working households, especially those with children, to encourage self-reliance and ease inter-generational poverty.
During the year, over 78,600 applications were approved out of more than 102,100 received, granting allowances exceeding $1,039 million to over 52,400 households and about 176,100 individuals, covering more than 72,300 children and youths. Pursuant to improvement measures introduced under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme, all WFA payment rates will be increased as announced in the 2019 Policy Address.
Social Security
The CSSA Scheme and Social Security Allowance (SSA) Scheme form the mainstay of Hong Kong's social security system, supplemented by three accident compensation schemes: the Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation Scheme, Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Scheme and Emergency Relief Fund. These schemes are administered by 41 social security field units and two centralised offices.
The department prevents and combats fraud and abuse of social security payment to preserve the integrity of the social security system and ensure the proper use of public funds. It receives reports from the public via the hotline 2332 0101. During the year, 77 abusers were jailed, bound over, ordered to perform community service, fined, or given warnings.
Comprehensive Social Security Assistance
The non-contributory CSSA Scheme renders cash assistance to people in financial hardship to meet their basic needs. It is means-tested and applicants must satisfy a residence requirement. As at end-2019, there were 220,175 CSSA cases involving 311,339 beneficiaries. Total expenditure in 2019 was about $21.8 billion, a decrease of 5 per cent over the previous year.
In the 2019 Policy Address, a host of pro-employment and related measures were announced to improve the CSSA Scheme, such as raising the ceiling for disregarded earnings and increasing the rent allowance.
The Portable CSSA Scheme allows elderly people who have obtained CSSA continuously for at least a year to continue receiving it in Guangdong or Fujian province if they retire there.
Social Security Allowance
The non-contributory SSA Scheme comprises Old Age Allowance (OAA); Disability Allowance (DA), consisting of Normal DA and Higher DA; Old Age Living Allowance (OALA), consisting of Normal OALA and Higher OALA; the Guangdong Scheme and the Fujian Scheme.
The OAA and DA provide non-means-tested cash allowances to elderly people aged 70 or above and people with severe disabilities respectively. The OALA supplements the living expenses of elderly people aged 65 or above who have financial needs. The Guangdong and
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