Wealth

(Updated on January 2024)

No matter a person has started to save up for his or her retirement life when he or she was young, the person will still be worried about the adequacy of such savings in meeting the day-to-day and medical expenses in his or her later life. For medical expenses in particular, one can never been certain how much is sufficient. If a person is unfortunate enough to get very sick and require long-term treatment, the savings which would have let him lead an easy life could all be gone, leaving him in terrible financial difficulty. Therefore, it is essential for us to know what is available for the elderly, such as the support and services any elderly person may have access to, so that people of the green age are prepared, not that they would need the services, but at least to be aware of what is available in the event of unexpected difficulties.

Jockey Club Food Assistance Programme
 
This programme provides transitional relief for people facing financial hardship through a variety of initiatives. For details, please visit:

Scheme on Living Allowance for Carers of Elderly Persons from Low-income Families

This scheme aims to provide carers of elderly persons from low-income families with a living allowance to subsidise their living expenses so that elderly persons in need of long-term care services may receive proper care and remain ageing in the community under the help of their carers.
Applicants must be Hong Kong residents who provide care (not in any form of employment relationship) for elderly persons living in the community for at least 80 hours per month. For other criteria, please refer to the following:

 
Home-based Community Care

Care and support services are provided to frail elderly persons aged 60 or above living in the community and who are assessed and recommended for Community Care Services or Residential Care Services under the Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services. They aim at facilitating service users to continue ageing in place for as long as possible and maintaining their optimal level of functioning, while providing various kinds of support and assistance to carers. For details, please click the following link:

Senior Citizen Cards

Any person who is 65 years old may apply for a Senior Citizen Card. The holder of the Card may enjoy the concessions, discounts and priority services given by the Government, public transport operators and commercial enterprises for elderly persons. It is free of charge for first application, and $22 for replacement. The applicant may bring along their certificates of proof and go to the office for Senior Citizens Cards at Room 2204 of Southorn Centre, 130 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, or they may submit their application by mail. For details please see:

Public Transport Fare Concessions for the Elderly
 

 

Old Age Allowance (“fruit money”)

The Old Age Allowance (OAA) is a cash allowance for Hong Kong residents aged 70 or above. This is to assist these elderly persons in meeting their special needs arising from old age. The OAA is directly paid into the bank account of the recipient each month and is not subject to any means test. For details please see:

 

Old Age Living Allowance

The aim of the Old Age Living Allowance is to provide a special allowance each month to Hong Kong residents aged 65 and above who are in need of financial support to supplement their living expenses. For details please see:

• https://www.hcv.gov.hk/en/hcvs/service_area.html

Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme

Elders with financial difficulties may apply for CSSA to meet their basic needs in life. All CSSA elderly recipients meeting the relevant requirements may apply for the Portable Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme if they choose to live their retirement life in Guangdong or Fujian provinces. They can continue to receive cash assistance. For details please see: CSSA

Portable Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme

 

Community Assistance in Kind

For elders in need and who have financial problem, they may obtain assistance in kind from certain welfare organizations in the form of food, furniture, electrical appliances, household repairs, communication equipment, free or inexpensive services in Chinese medicine, Western medicine, ophthalmology, dental services and so on. For details please see:

 

Health Care Assistance Schemes under the Samaritan Fund and the Community Care Fund

The Samaritan Fund provides financial assistance to needy patients who have passed a means test to enable them to pay for self-financing medical items or fees for new technologies outside the scope of standard items covered by public hospitals and clinics in the course of their treatment. The scope of subsidy covers self-financing medicine and medical items.

Through the health care assistance schemes under the Community Care Fund certain self-financing cancer medicine with proven higher efficacy have been incorporated into the scope of the Samaritan Fund since 2012. The eligibility criteria for means test are also relaxed when application is made. For details please see:

Other Social Services Provided for the Elderly

Apart from government departments, many non-government organizations and community service organizations also provide various services and information support for the elderly. These include 24-hour emergency call system which enables elders to talk directly to emergency call attendants for assistance in case of emergency. For details please see: