Chow Wing-Sun: Three Options for Universal Retirement Protection, HK$3,000 Monthly Allowance the Most Direct

Scholar Chow Wing-sun proposed in May 2011 that universal retirement protection has three workable options: HK$3,000 a month for every elderly person, a new elderly living allowance, or a full system overhaul.

What are the three options?

A HK$3,000 universal allowance, an elderly living allowance, or full restructuring. Chow, who once assisted the Central Policy Unit’s research, proposed: HK$3,000 monthly for every senior; an elderly living allowance alongside social security and fruit money; or a comprehensive review to revamp or replace the retirement-protection system.

Why won’t the government publish the research?

Chow doesn’t understand either. He says the study already analysed ageing and retirement protection in detail, yet the government has never published it. The universal protection that groups demand has “no content, no direction” — just slogans.

Would universal contributions work?

The public resists contributing. Chow notes citizens already balk at voluntary health-insurance contributions, having lost faith that the government can deliver decent services — whether everyone would accept universal contributions for pensions is doubtful. He urges early public consultation with full data disclosed; even agreed today, implementation is a decade away.