TNAG-2100-FCO40-2989-HM-Overseas-Civil-Service-(HMOCS)-policy-matters-1990 — Page 47

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was uncertain and because its wealth me ant that it would not qualify grounds. Some 35,000 pensioners are covered by the

for help on

aid

arrangements

>

which are administered

1984-85 of s ome

£82 million.

pensions earned in service

by the ODA. at a cost in

(The ODA also administer 8,000

Pakistan and Burma, most of

1950 s against reimbursement

in India,

which were taken over in the 1940s and

by the Indian Government).

HMOCS IN HONG KONG

3.

There are currently s ome 700 members of HMOCS in Hong Kong. There are approximately 100 other pensionable

overseas officers who may be eligible for HMOCS status but have not as far applied for it. There are also some 2400 overseas officers on contract terms: however,

the Hong Kong Government is considering making a proposal that it should по longer entertain further applications from these officers to convert to pensionable terms except that they will offer a once and for all

option to convert to some 580 overseas police officers who were eligible for appointment on pensionable terms. A preliminary estimate is that perhaps a

is that perhaps a further 300 officers may as result of these factors become members of HMOCS. The resulting total, approximately 1000, will decline through retirement, Hong Kong having halted Overseas recruitment on pensionable terms with effect from the date of the signing of the agreement. Some 1730 Hong Kong pensioners count as overseas officers (including 440 drawing dependants' pensions). Payments to them by Hong Kong are running at an annual rate of £10.5 million.

4. These serving officers and pensioners naturally expect that the protective measures listed above will also be applied to them. Many have served in other dependent territories and are familiar with

compensation scheme s and pension take-over arrangements; will already know from the ODA that pensions they

elsewhere are covered by the take-over programme.

a

number

have

earned

5. The factors which bear

on HMOCS compensation and pensions Hong Kong differ in two important respects from those which applied elsewhere. First, there is no case on aid grounds

from

have

for

relieving the Hong Kong/SAR government

responsibility for these

of

the

financial

benfits.

Among other things this limits

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