Press Releases

HWFB explains on additional expenditure on OAA

In response to media enquiries concerning an estimation that the Government may incur an annual additional expenditure on the Old Age Allowance (OAA) of $1.17 billion should the permissible limit of absence from Hong Kong under the scheme be relaxed to a year, a spokesman for Health, Welfare and Food Bureau said today (April 14) the estimation was not misleading, and was based on the assumption that should there be no restriction on the limit of absence from Hong Kong, the relaxation may attract those elders currently not receiving OAA to apply for it.


According to the latest statistics, about 150 000 elders aged 65 or above are not receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance or OAA.


Should all these elders apply for OAA, the Government may incur an additional expenditure of about $1.17 billion. Currently, elders aged between 65 and 69 applying for OAA have to go through a means test, while there is no such requirement for elders aged 70 or above.


The spokesman said: "The estimation is based on the elderly population in 2004, and has not taken into account the likely increase in elderly population. In view of our ageing population, we must be prudent and take into account the financial sustainability of the scheme, when relaxing the permissible limit of absence from Hong Kong for OAA."


On a media report saying that according to Social Welfare Department records, the annual overpayment on cases which had breached the permissible limit of absence amounted to about $15 million, the spokesman said the figure reflected only the actual cases which had breached the current permissible limit of 180 days' absence, and was different from the estimation on the number of possible new applicants should the absence limit be relaxed.


Therefore, direct comparison between these two sets of figures was not appropriate, the spokesman said.




Ends/Thursday, April 14, 2005

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