Elderly in march for universal pension
Wheelchair-bound protesters call for scrapping of means tests on old age living allowance as stepping stone to retirement scheme for all
An angry crowd of more than 1,000 people, including the elderly and their families, marked Senior Citizens Day yesterday by accusing the government of failing to give a commitment to the long-awaited universal pension scheme.
Their anger did not let up even as top officials reiterated that the Legislative Council should pass the proposed Old Age Living Allowance as soon as possible and that the handout - which as it stands would be subject to means testing - was not a substitute for a future universal pension scheme.
The rally, organised by the Alliance for Universal Pensions, attracted more than 100 elderly protesters, many of them in wheelchairs.
Organisers demanded that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying put the establishment of a universal pension scheme on the agenda of his first policy address in January, and establish a select committee to study the issue.
"I hope a timetable to introduce a universal pension scheme will come forward soon," said Lai Yuen-mei, spokeswoman for the alliance. The Old Age Living Allowance could be an intermediate step towards a universal pension, if it was not means-tested, she added.
"The government should start thinking about how to implement an all-round retirement plan for the whole society while we still have a comparatively young workforce," she said.