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The Director of Social Welfare, Mr Patrick Nip, announced at a press conference today (January 31) that the Old Age Living Allowance (OALA) will be launched in April and there will be three phases of implementation. A series of publicity activities will be carried out to remind eligible elderly persons to apply for and receive the allowance according to the planned schedule.
Mr Nip said that the OALA, which is being introduced under the Social Security Allowance Scheme, aims to supplement the living expenses of Hong Kong elderly persons aged 65 or above who are in need of financial support. Eligible elderly persons will receive a monthly allowance of $2,200. Mr Nip said, "The SWD has devised a set of simplified application procedures to enable elderly persons to receive the allowance as early as possible."
The OALA will be rolled out in three phases, namely "Auto-conversion", "Postal Submission" and "New Application". Different types of elderly persons can receive the OALA through different arrangements.
The first phase, "Auto-conversion", involves all of the 290,000 elderly persons who are currently receiving Old Age Allowance (OAA) (commonly known as "fruit money"), including Normal OAA recipients aged between 65 and 69, as well as Higher OAA recipients aged 70 or above who have received Normal OAA at the ages of 65 to 69. The SWD will issue a green notification letter with an attached reply slip to them on February 25. Those who are still eligible need not reply. OALA payment will be credited into their designated bank accounts by the SWD on or after April 5. Elderly persons who opt not to switch to the OALA or have income or assets exceeding the prescribed limits should notify the SWD before March 22.
The second phase, "Postal Submission", involves those who have not received the green notification letter in the first phase, including Higher OAA recipients aged 70 or above who have not received Normal OAA at the ages of 65 to 69, and recipients of Normal Disability Allowance (Normal DA) aged 65 or above. The SWD will issue a yellow notification letter with an attached "Postal Submission" Application Form to them on March 25 to inform them about the arrangement to apply for the OALA by post. Those who opt for the OALA can submit their applications by filling out the "Postal Submission" Application Form and returning it to the SWD by post on or before December 31. There is no need for elderly persons to visit the Social Security Field Units (SSFUs) to apply for the OALA in person. For those eligible, payment will be credited into their designated bank accounts currently used for receiving OAA/Normal DA payment.
The third phase, "New Application", involves elderly persons aged 65 or above currently not receiving OAA or Normal DA but in need of financial support from the OALA. They can make applications by fax, by email, by post or through referral by government departments/non-governmental organisations, etc, or go to the SWD's SSFUs near their place of residence. Application forms and guidance notes can be downloaded from the SWD's website or obtained from SSFUs. The SWD will receive new applications from April 2. The SWD staff will arrange interview appointments with the applicants after receiving their applications. Eligible elderly persons whose applications are received on or before December 31 will receive the OALA dating back to December 1, 2012, at the earliest.
Please refer to the SWD's website or leaflets (as attached) for eligibility criteria, including residence and income and assets requirements. Income and assets should not exceed the following prescribed limits:
Single person Married couple
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Total income per month $6,880 $10,940
Total assets value $193,000 $292,000
Elderly persons aged 70 or above who opt not to switch to the OALA can apply for or continue to receive the non-means-tested OAA. Starting from tomorrow (February 1), OAA will be increased from $1,090 to $1,135 per month.
Mr Nip said, "To remind elderly persons of the relevant application dates and procedures, the SWD has produced three versions of TV Announcements in the Public Interest (APIs) and Radio APIs for broadcast to tie in with the rolling out of the three phases." While appealing to elderly persons to apply for the OALA as scheduled, he reminded the applicants that there is no need for them to queue up at the SWD's SSFUs.
For details about the OALA, please visit the SWD's website www.swd.gov.hk/oala or call the hotline at 3595 0130.
Ends/Thursday, January 31, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:19
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