Scheme on Living Allowance for Carers of Elderly Persons from Low-income Families
Introduction
The Community Care Fund (CCF) launched the “Pilot Scheme on Living Allowance for Carers of Elderly Persons from Low-income Families” in June 2014 with the aim of providing carers of elderly persons from low-income families with a living allowance to help supplement their living expenses so that elderly persons in need of long-term care services may, under the help of their carers, receive proper care and remain ageing in the community. The aforementioned Pilot Scheme is incorporated into the Government's regular assistance programme and renamed as the “Scheme on Living Allowance for Carers of Elderly Persons from Low-income Families” (Allowance for Carers of the Elderly) with effect from October 2023, for providing continuous assistance to the needy and eligible carers.
Eligibility Criteria
An applicant, who is the carer providing care for the elderly person(s) (the carer), shall meet ALL of the following criteria:
- the elderly person(s) being taken care of must be living in Hong Kong, and has/have been assessed by SWD’s Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services (SCNAMES) to be suitable for residential care services (RCS) and/or community care services (CCS) on or before 31 December 2022, and remain on the Central Waiting List (CWL) for subsidised long-term care services [i.e. RCS and/or CCS];
- the elderly person(s) being taken care of must be living in the community, and without using any RCS during the application period and while receiving the allowance;
- the carer must be capable of taking up the care-giving role (Note 1) and is providing at least 80 hours of care-giving work per month (Note 2); or not less than a total of 120 hours per month for taking care of more than one elderly person who meets the above-mentioned criteria at the same time;
- the carer must be a Hong Kong resident living in Hong Kong and not engaged in any form of employment relationship with the elderly person(s) being taken care of;
- the carer must not be a recipient of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA), Old Age Living Allowance (OALA) or allowance in respect of taking care the same elderly person under the “Scheme on Living Allowance for Low-income Carers of Persons with Disabilities” of SWD; and
- the carer is from a low-income family with monthly household income, excluding assets of the carer and the household members residing with him/her (Note 3), does not exceed the specified income limit applicable to the corresponding household size. (Please refer to Brief for details).
Note 1: Any person who is under the age of 15, or has been assessed under SCNAMES to be suitable for RCS and/or CCS, or is being on the CWL for subsidised long-term care services, or is on the waiting lists for any specified rehabilitation services subsidised by SWD, for special school with boarding placement under Education Bureau or for infirmary services of Hospital Authority, or is a recipient of DA, will not be deemed to be a fit and capable carer and therefore will not be eligible for the allowance.
Note 2: The care provided by the carer to the elderly person(s) refers to independent activities of daily living, such as meal preparation, home making, medication management, purchase of daily necessities, and escort, etc. and/or personal care assistance in activities of daily living required by the elderly person concerned, such as moving, dressing, toileting, and personal hygiene, etc. For some carers taking care of elderly person with behavioral or emotional problems, the time needed to calm down the elderly persons before the above daily living care can be provided may be counted as care-giving hours. In addition, the number of hours for the carer to attend training can also be counted as care-giving hours.
Note 3: Household members generally refer to people residing with the applicant in Hong Kong and have close economic ties with him/her (but excluding economic ties arising from employment relationship). This includes household members and those who share or are obliged to share the provisions for a living. Such member(s) and/or person(s) must be Hong Kong resident(s). The monthly household income refers to the average monthly income for the three months prior to the month when the application is submitted, any income received out of those three months can be excluded. For income not paid on monthly basis, e.g. double pay, bonuses, contract gratuity, dividends, etc., it should be apportioned over the period concerned for calculation. Income includes the following items:
- Employment earnings: salary, double pay, leave pay, work allowance, bonuses, prize, commission, tips, contract gratuity, income from rendering services, business profits, etc.; and
- Other income: contributions from children, financial assistance from relatives/friends, alimony, monthly pension, widow’s and orphans’ payment or pensions, investment profits (including income/ payout from trust fund, bonds and annuity scheme(s) etc.), interest income from fixed deposits, dividends, rental income, etc.
but excludes monthly payments received under the Reverse Mortgage Programme (RMP) (only applicable to the RMP where the property as collateral is an owner-occupied property) and the Policy Reverse Mortgage Programme, employee’s mandatory contribution to the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) scheme (i.e. the 5% mandatory contributions made by employees to an MPF scheme), financial assistance provided by the Government, charitable donations, subsidies from assistance programmes under CCF, etc.
Application Procedures
- Starting from October 2023, SWD will issue letters, according to the information of CWL, to the elderly persons who are not using any RCS and have been waitlisting for subsidised long-term care services on CWL on or before 31 December 2022 and remain on the CWL, to invite their carers to participate in the Allowance for Carers of the Elderly.
- For each elderly person invited to participate in the Allowance for Carers of the Elderly, only one carer can apply for and receive the allowance. If an elderly person has more than one carer, the carers must decide among themselves who should apply for and receive the allowance.
Enquiries
Carer Allowances and Subsidies Team, SWD
| Address: | Room 404, 4/F, Lady Trench Training Centre, 44 Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong |
|---|---|
| Telephone: | 3468 5636 |
| Fax: | 3468 5648 |
| Email: | castenq@swd.gov.hk |
| Time: | Monday to Friday from 9:30 am to 1.00 pm and from 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm, excluding Public Holidays |
Download
| Item/ Name | Download File |
|---|---|
| Brief on “Scheme on Living Allowance for Carers of Elderly Persons from Low-income Families” |