Labour and Welfare Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung reminded the elderly to honestly declare their assets and to consider the risks of transferring assets in order to be eligible for the allowance, as they might not be able to get them back.
Cheung had previously said he did not object to the practice of transferring assets.
Jolie Ho and Lo Wei, “More Hong Kong elderly live in poverty, study says“, South China Morning Post, 15 October 2012.
The means test for Hong Kong’s “elderly allowance” includes assets as well as income. It might be safer for the elderly of Hong Kong to hide their savings, rather than transfer them to children or grandchildren.
