MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1978
$56.6 MILLION PAID OUT IN LAST TWO MONTHS AS
SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS
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THE SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT PAID OUT A TOTAL OF $56.6 MILLION IN JULY AND AUGUST AS NON-CONTRIBUTORY SOCIAL SECURITY CASH BENEFITS TO NEEDY FAMILIES, THE DISABLED AND THE ELDERLY.
THIS BRINGS TO A STAGGERING $135 MILLION THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID OUT IN THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF THIS FINANCIAL YEAR $36.5 MILLION MORE THAN IN THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD LAST YEAR.
THE MONEY WENT TO MORE THAN 133,000 NEEDY FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS AS PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, DISABILITY ALLOWANCE AND OLD AGE ALLOWANCE ADMINISTERED BY THE DEPARTMENT'S SOCIAL SECURITY DIVISION.
MR.CHENG KWAN-KUEN, HEAD OF THE DIVISION, SAID TODAY THAT OF THE AMOUNT DISTRIBUTED IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS, $35.8 MILLION WERE PAID OUT AS PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, $12.9 MILLION AS OLD AGE ALLOWANCE AND $7.9 MILLION AS DISABILITY ALLOWANCE.
PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, HE SAID, IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A GUARANTEED INCOME TO NEEDY HOUSEHOLDS ENABLING THEM TO MEET THE COST OF ESSENTIALS SUCH AS FOOD AND CLOTHING WITHOUT SUFFERING HARDSHIP.
DISABILITY AND OLD AGE ALLOWANCES PROVIDE CASH ASSISTANCE ON TOP OF ANY PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PAYMENT TO ENCOURAGE THE SEVERELY DISABLED AND THE ELDERLY TO REMAIN WITHIN THE COMMUNITY AND AMONG THE IR FAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS, HE SAID.
AT PRESENT, THE DEPARTMENT'S 26 SOCIAL SECURITY FIELD UNITS ARE HANDLING AROUND 48,000 PUBLIC ASSISTANCE CASES, 66,000 OLD AGE ALLOWANCE CASES AND 19,000 DISABILITY ALLOWANCE CASES, HE SAID.
MEANWHILE, MR. CHENG SAID THAT SINCE THE LOWERING OF THE QUALIFYING AGE FOR OLD AGE ALLOWANCE FROM 75 TO 70 AS FROM NEXT MONTH WAS ANNOUNCED, MORE THAN 26, 700 APPLICATIONS HAD BEEN RECEIVED FROM APPLICANTS IN THE 70-74 AGE GROUP UP TO LAST THURSDAY.
AT THE SAME TIME, HE SAID, THE RECENTLY' INTRODUCED +HOT LINE+ AT THE DEPARTMENT'S HEADQUARTERS HAS BEEN KEPT BUSY AND FLOODED WITH ENQUIRIES ABOUT THE EXTENDED PROVISION,
SOME 2,000 ENQUIRIES WERE MADE AND 120 APPLICATIONS RECEIVED THROUGH THIS HOT LINE+, HE SAID.
HE SAID PEOPLE MIGHT APPLY THROUGH THE HOT LINE+ 5-794673 BY GIVING THEIR NAME AND ADDRESS, AND A BRIEF INTERVIEW WOULD BE ARRANGED LATER TO VERIFY THEIR CLAIMS TO THE ALLOWANCE.
IT IS EXPECTED THAT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE QUALIFYING AGE REDUCTION WOULD COST AN EXTRA $28.5 MILLION IN THE CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR, WHICH WILL BE IN ADDITION TO THE $78.1 MILLION ALREADY PROVIDED FOR PAYMENT OF THE OLD AGE ALLOWANCE TO EXISTING CLIENTS, HE SAID.
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