30/9/42
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4.
If allowances are to be granted to the pensionable staff in question, it is presumed that such allowances will be paid with effect from 30th September 1942. As it is improbable that the Refugee Relief Department will be able to complete the necessary calculations before the end of March 1943, this will mean that each officer will receive six months allowance as an initial payment. An important point which requires a decision is whether officers are to be allowed to choose whether to draw allowances in full or to receive three quarters of their allowances together with a lump sum equivalent to ten times one quarter of the annual allowance. A lump sum would give those officers who are unable to find employment in China a certain amount of capital with which to start a small business, but the purchasing power of such a sum would be considerably less than its equivalent under normal conditions in Hongkong. It would of course lessen the eventual cost of pensioning off Government employees if they were allowed to commute their pensions in this manner, particularly in the case of younger officers. If an officer chooses to commute and then finds that the amount of his reduced allowance is insufficient for his maintenance, it is suggested that he should except under special circumstances forfeit any claim to assistance from relief funds. The desirability of making lump sum payments is dependent upon the policy to be adopted regarding the reinstatement of Hongkong Government employees when this becomes again possible.
5.
A decision is also necessary regarding the continuance of contributions to the Widows and Orphans Pension Scheme. Are these contributions to be continued and is the normal procedure to be followed of allowing an officer to choose whether he will continue to contribute on the basis of his retiring salary or of his pension to be followed? It will of course be impossible for the Refugee Relief Department to compute the pensions due under this scheme to the dependents of officers dying in China after the fall of Hongkong.