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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Universalism or selectivism
— old age allowance as a case in Hong Kong | | Author(s) | Kee-Lee Chou, Nelson W S Chow |
| Journal title | Hallym International Journal of Aging, vol 7, no 2, 2005 |
| Pages | pp 131-142 |
| Source | http://baywood.com |
| Keywords | Pensions ; Social welfare ; Means testing ; Social policy ; Social surveys ; Hong Kong. |
| Annotation | Due to structural fiscal deficit, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government might adopt a more selective approach in the provision of social welfare. At the same time, Hong Kong population will be ageing rapidly in the next two decades, and retirement protection becomes a challenge for policy makers. The Old Age Allowance (OAA), one form of public financial assistance to older adults, consists of two components: one is Normal OAA with lenient means-testing, the other one being High OAA which is universal. Combining with the Old Age Category of CSSA (Comprehensive Social Security Assistance) is suggested, so as to provide greater and more selective support for the needy. In a survey, it was found that 70% of 1867 middle-aged adults would definitely or probably apply for the OAA when they reach the qualifying age, whereas only 3.8% of them would definitely or probably not apply for the OAA. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses revealed that those who would apply the OAA had higher financial needs than those who would not. Results suggest that the future OAA recipients need the financial support from the OAA rather than perceive it as a citizen right. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-070814214 A |
| Classmark | JJ: TY: JF4C: TM2: 3F: 7DR |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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