Kenneth Lau
Monday, August 04, 2014
Members of the Elderly Commission are still split over a pension scheme and how much should be doled out to different levels of senior citizens each month, says chairman Alfred Chan Cheung-ming.
A retirement protection report written by University of Hong Kong department of social work and social administration chair professor Nelson Chow Wing-sun is expected to be released this month.
Chow was appointed by the government to conduct the study.
Speaking in a radio program, Chan said there are various views on how to deal with the rich and the poor elderly.
"Some say since it is named universal pension, every senior citizen should be given HK$2,000 or HK$3,000 each month, no matter how much they have contributed to the fund," he said.
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Chan said both sides are right and this is the reason why commission members have spent so much time debating the issue.
He said he personally supports a suggestion that rich or poor elderly should be given the minimum protection by the government, with each person receiving HK$3,000 to HK$4,000 a month.
Chan also urged the government to manage the funding directly and to inject money into the fund when necessary.
He stressed that the universal pension should not be treated as a poverty-alleviation measure and should instead be considered a policy to help the elderly live with dignity.
Chan supports the World Bank's so- called five-pillar model, which sets out a range of sources for retirement funding.
He hopes the report can be released soon for the public to have a comprehensive and deep discussion.
Au Yeung Kwun-tung, Alliance for Universal Pension committee member, said some elderly people used up their saving because of illness, causing them to become anxious about their future.
He hoped society would contribute to the fund and that every elderly person would receive an equal pension no matter what assets they had.
