Old age allowance ruling hailed

May 14, 2012

Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung said the ruling on Old Age Allowance today reaffirmed the legal basis of the pre-application one-year-continuous-residence requirement for all applicants.
 
Mr Cheung spoke to the media after the High Court dismissed a judicial review of residency requirements for seniors applying for old-age allowances.
 
He said the requirement for an applicant to reside in Hong Kong for a full year before application is to establish the link with the Hong Kong community.
 
Mr Cheung said that was the primary consideration that had been operating over the last few years.
 
He said it is important to manage resources carefully to ensure they are distributed fairly, and to make sure the policy is viable in the long term.