A Low-income Working Family Allowance scheme will start taking applications from May 3, Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung announced today.
Families with income below the poverty line can apply for a full-rate Basic Allowance of $600 per month, if the applicant works at least 144 hours a month.
Families are eligible for the $1,000 higher rate allowance if the applicant works more than 192 hours per month. Families with income above the poverty line but below the 60% median household income are eligible for a half-rate allowance.
The first batch of applications will be taken in phases. Families with four or more people can apply in May. Three-person families can apply in June, and two-person families in July. The allowance disbursed to eligible families will be dated back to November this year.
Mr Cheung said the scheme is an important tool to alleviate poverty and encourage self-reliance. Each eligible child in the applicant family may also be granted a full-rate Child Allowance ($800 per month) or a half-rate Child Allowance ($400 per month), which can help ease intergenerational poverty.
Mr Cheung expected the scheme to benefit 200,000 low-income working families, involving 700,000 people, which includes 170,000 eligible children or youths.
The scheme will cost $3 billion each year, and can cut the overall poverty rate by two percentage points and the child poverty rate by 4.2 percentage points.
Mr Cheung reminded those who are interested in applying to start keeping documentary proof of working hours, family income and assets, and other details from now on.
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