Hong Kong's elderly must have a proper pension plan

MORE needs to be done to help our elderly. There are almost half a million people over 65 in Hong Kong, a number that will grow, and our social infrastructure has not kept pace with their needs.

Traditionally the elderly have relied on their families for support. However, family sizes are shrinking, and as young people grow more independent-minded, many are reluctant to look after an elderly parent in their home. The relocation of families to the New Territories and continuing emigration leave many old people without nearby support.

The Hong Kong Democratic Foundation (HKDF) believes an old-age pension of $2,000 a month payable to all Hong Kong residents over 65 would meet the basic need of many of our elderly people for financial support.

Take the case of Ah-chan, now 65 and living in a dilapidated pre-war building in Mongkok. His father was killed during the Japanese occupation and from an early age Ah-chan had to work at any job he could find to keep his younger brothers and sisters. Heworked in the docks for many years, then as a cleaner, always working with neither time nor money to marry. His brothers and sisters emigrated. Eventually he gained regular employment in a toy factory, but was made redundant when the business moved to China in 1984. He was then paid compensation of $12,000, more cash than he had ever had in his life.

However, that sum is gone. He survives on the old-age allowance of $450 a month and a little money he makes collecting waste paper and cans. His cage in a flat in Mongkok that he shares with 40 other unfortunate men costs $300 a month, and the remainder of his income goes on food. He worries what will happened if he cannot maintain his income from collecting waste, or when the rent for his cage goes up when rent control is lifted. The Government's old-age allowance is simply not enough.

At present Hong Kong people between 65 and 70 can claim the old-age allowance of $450 per month if they pass a means test. From 70, a higher old-age allowance of $510 per month is available without any means test, and 95 per cent claim it.