The debate over the sustainability and rising cost to the public purse of Hong Kong’s concessional fare scheme for elderly and disabled residents rages on. The government revealed last week that public spending on the scheme had risen for the third straight year.
About HK$4 billion (US$513.9 million) was allocated for the scheme in the 2023-24 financial year. That represents 0.7 per cent of the government’s total annual operating expenditure, up from 0.5 per cent in 2022-23 and 0.2 per cent in 2021-22.
These costs will only continue to rise as Hong Kong’s population ages. The scheme, which provides HK$2 fares, is well intended in its aim to encourage beneficiaries to head out more and participate in community activities. Financial stability is another matter, though, and so the government aims to conduct a review of the scheme.
Some have called the government’s decision to lower the age of eligibility for the scheme from 65 to 60 in 2022 a “hasty” one. While we won’t know for sure how true that is, the episode is more evidence of the government’s inconsistent policies.
The Labour Department is trying to address the city’s shortage of workers with schemes such as the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged which gives employers a training allowance of up to HK$5,000 a month per staff member aged 40 or older for up to 12 months.
Hong Kong does not have a statutory retirement age, but it is clear we struggle as a society to decide where the line is on who is old enough for retirement. It seems inconceivable that the government could take back what it has already offered, but there is room for tweaking policy, such as by capping maximum usage per beneficiary or the fare amount.