TNAG-2060-FCO40-2938-Hong-Kong-Overseas-Service-Pensioners--Association-(OSPA)-1990 — Page 18

CODE 18-77

CONFIDENTIAL

(43

Reference.

THE

нив 233 //

Mr Fish, Overseas Pensions Dept, ODA

HONG KONG HMOCS MATTERS: OSPA

1.

72

Thank you for your minute of 17 December.

2. I attach a copy of a relevant minute Mr Paul issued following his recent visit to Hong Kong on JLG business. hope to receive the formal response from Hong Kong soon.

3.

We

I would be grateful to know what chance you think your proposal for manipulating SPOS will have of getting through to Treasury. It would also be helpful to have a wider picture of what you are considering. In your minute of

9 November, you appear to suggest a system that topped up the sterling equivalent of the basic pension to the same level as prevailed when the individual retired. The (age old) problem with this is that some would do well and some would do badly for no good reason except the date of retirement. It would also, certainly now, cost more than setting a floor below which the ODA could top up basic pensions and might thus be hard to sell to the Treasury. (And some people who retired in 1985 when the USD/£ rate almost went to 1:1 briefly will do very well indeed.) On the other hand, setting a floor is effectively a sterling safeguard.

19 December 1990

и.

M V Stone

Hong Kong Department WH 311 270 2651

BATAJD

CONFIDENTIAL