The Social Welfare Department announced today that the Old Age Living Allowance (OALA) will be implemented under the Guangdong Scheme and the Fujian Scheme from January 1, 2020.

The new plan covers both the normal and higher old age living allowances. The elderly can apply for the allowances from tomorrow.

The department said the new plan will provide allowances to eligible Hong Kong elderly people aged 65 or above who choose to reside in Guangdong or Fujian without the need to return to Hong Kong each year.

The amount of normal-rate monthly allowance is currently $2,675 while the higher-rate one is $3,585 per month. The amounts will be adjusted annually in accordance with the established mechanism.

The existing means-tested Old Age Allowance (OAA) applicable for applicants aged 65 to 69 under both schemes will be replaced by the OALA from January 1, 2020, while the provision of the non-means tested OAA for applicants aged 70 or above will continue.

A special one-off arrangement will be put in place in the first year of implementing the OALA under the Guangdong and Fujian schemes.

It allows the elderly who have already resided in Guangdong or Fujian and satisfied all other eligibility criteria, but fail to meet the requirement of having resided in Hong Kong continuously for at least one year immediately before the date of application, to benefit from the new plan without having to return to and stay in Hong Kong for one year.

However, these applicants must have resided in either Mainland places for at least one year immediately before the date of application.

The special one-off arrangement will also be applicable to the OAA under the two schemes. Hong Kong elderly people aged 70 or above residing in Guangdong and Fujian, if not applying for the OALA, may apply for the OAA through this arrangement.

The application forms can be downloaded from the Guangdong Scheme and Fujian Scheme websites.

Call 3105 3266 for enquiries.