B
C
XCC (90) 67
5
In
pensioners
respect of
genuine cases of hardship among residing in
Hong Kong who require regular assistance, Civil Service Branch has been referring them for consideration under the Government's social security scheme or the Hong Kong War Memorial Fund or to Housing Department, depending on the nature of the case. Annex B shows the number and outcome of such cases from January 1986 to December 1989. The success rate of these cases has been encouraging except for those involving the Public Assistance Scheme, mainly because 32 out of the 44 cases were subsequently withdrawn upon the request of the pensioners in question. This is rather unfortunate as assistance in cash in the form of old
age supplement, old age allowances, disability allowance, higher disability allowance etc is provided under the Public Assistance Scheme and Special Needs Allowance Scheme as set out in Annex
Nevertheless, this phenomenon illustrates that it is not uncommon for pensioners to feel that they should receive better treatment from the Government as their former employer rather than having to seek public assistance.
6
C.
Pensioners who reside overseas can acquire similar assistance under their countries' welfare support systems. There are however problems in countries such as India and Pakistan where the provisions of relief are mainly made for those who have joined various local provident funds or insurance schemes. Hong Kong pensioners who have spent the greater part of their life in Hong Kong are not contributors to these schemes.
7
We consider that long term assistance for pensioners should be the responsibility of their countries of residence. However, there is a case for the Hong Kong Government, as a good employer, to give some immediate relief to pensioners suffering from genuine hardship. Such relief is available to Police pensioners in the form of grants amounting to $4,000 to $6,000 per case provided from the Police Welfare Fund. Control of this fund is vested with the Commissioner of Police, and over 85% of its income is derived from donations and charge for hire of police services. In 1988/89, grants amounting to $650,000 were made available to serving and retired officers in hardship.
The Proposed "Pensioners' Welfare Fund"
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Against this background, it is proposed to set up a "Pensioners' Welfare Fund" to assist pensioners suffering from genuine hardship locally or abroad. Cash relief will be made available to them to tide them over unforeseen calamities.
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Private notes are available after approval.