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Motion on retirement protection proposed
The Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Michael Leung, will move a motion in the Legislative Council on March 8 (Wednesday) on retirement protection, a Government spokesman said today (Tuesday).
The motion will read: "This Council urges Government to introduce as expeditiously as possible a mandatory, privately managed occupational retirement protection system with provision for the preservation and portability of benefits."
"If we are to propose an alternative to the Old Age Pension Scheme, then it must have the clear support of the Legislative Council. Clear support from LegCo would mean that we could proceed with detailed preparations for the proposed system.
"This would also enable us to consult the Chinese side of the Joint Liaison Group on the proposal," said the spokesman.
The proposed system could include the following main features:
it would be mandatory for every employer to establish a retirement scheme for his employees under the age of 65;
it would be a joint contribution scheme by employees and employers;
there would be a statutory minimum contribution, of which the employer should pay half;
there would be a minimum salary level, below which an employee might elect not to participate in a scheme;
there would be a maximum salary level above which statutory contributions would not be required;
there will be a requirement for preservation and portability of benefits until an employee reaches retirement age, except in specified circumstances such as death, total disability or permanent departure from Hong Kong,