XN000022-1973-02-01 — Page 6

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Thursday, February 1, 1973

DISABILITY AND INFIRMITY ALLOWANCE SCHEME APPROVED

Entirely New Development Of Social Security In Hong Kong From April 1

From April 1 this year, allowances for the severely disabled and

without a means test to those qualifying.

the elderly infirm will be paid

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From that date, residents qualifying as severely disabled, or who are 75 and over, will be eligible for one of these allowances, regardless of other

income, or financial resources.

The severe disability allowance will be $110 a month, with the

qualifying conditions limited to the claimant's having lived in Hong Kong for

at least one year, and not being in residential care, such as a hospital or

a nursing home.

A severely disabled person is defined as a resident severely physically injured, or blind, or suffering from a severe physically or mentally disabling

condition.

The infirmity allowance will be half the rate of the disability

allowance, or $55 a month. It will go to any resident of 75 or over, calculated

by Western reckoning, with the qualifying conditions limited to the claimant's having lived in Hong Kong for at least five years, not being in residential

care at a hospital or a home for the aged, and not receiving a severe disability allowance.

The cost of the scheme is estimated at between $30 and $40 million

a year. The allowances will be in addition to public assistance, so that residents already receiving public assistance, and who qualify either as severely disabled, or aged 75 and over, will receive the full benefits of the scheme.

/Implementation