TNAG-0607-FCO40-755-Monitoring-progress-made-on-planning-papers-on-Hong-Kong-1977 — Page 203

housing loan facility.

The contribution rate would

be kept low perhaps at the rate of 2% of earnings from

employer and employee alike. The ough the benefits

•

would be fairly modest so would be the burden of

contributions.

The Government would pay for the

administrative costs and perhaps provide initial priming

for the scheme's funds. But in general the scheme

would be self-financing.

scheme is that it would be up to each employee whether he wished to join, but if he did so his employer

would have to pay contributions too unless he were

contracted out of the scheme. The employer could

contract out if he already provided benefits such as

would be conferred under the scheme. This scheme

would cater for an area of need, which cannot be met

satisfactorily through the public assistance scheme

because the persons concerned or their families have

means above the level of eligibility for public

assistance, but are not so far above it as to be

insulated against the financial effects on the family of the prolonged sickness or death of a breadwinner.

A significant feature of the

Moreover there may be some who though within the

ancome level eligible for public assistance would prefer

to insure themselves in this alternative way.