Social Welfare Department - Social Security Allowance Scheme

Social Security Allowance (SSA) Scheme

The objective of the SSA Scheme is to provide a monthly allowance to Hong Kong residents who are severely disabled or who are 65 years of age or above to meet special needs arising from disability or old age.

The Scheme includes Normal Disability Allowance, Higher Disability Allowance, Old Age Allowance, Old Age Living Allowance, Guangdong Scheme and Fujian Scheme. Applicants of Disability Allowance and Old Age Allowance under the Scheme are not required to go through a means test.

Eligibility Criteria

A person is eligible for an allowance under the Scheme if he/she:

satisfies the following residence requirements:

he/she must have been a Hong Kong resident for at least seven years; and
he/she must have resided in Hong Kong continuously for at least one year immediately before the date of application (absence from Hong Kong up to a maximum of 56 days during the one-year period is treated as residence in Hong Kong).

Note:

(1)	Persons whose presence in Hong Kong is unlawful or persons who are permitted to stay in Hong Kong for a purpose other than residence (for example, imported workers or visitors) are excluded from the Scheme.

(2)	Hong Kong residents aged below 18 applying for Disability Allowance are exempted from the residence requirements in (a) and (b) above.

(3)	In determining whether an SSA applicant has resided in Hong Kong continuously for at least one year immediately before the date of application, consideration can be given to disregarding absences arising from full-time study (for Disability Allowance applicants only) or paid work outside Hong Kong during the one-year period, subject to there being sufficient documentary proof. Where an applicant has been absent from Hong Kong for more than 56 days during the one-year period because of the need to receive medical treatment outside Hong Kong, the Director of Social Welfare can consider exercising his discretion to disregard the absences exceeding the 56-day limit, subject to the reason for and evidence of receiving medical treatment outside Hong Kong being established.
(3)

(4)	Absence from Hong Kong means leaving Hong Kong for the Mainland, Macao or overseas countries/territories.

continues to reside in Hong Kong during receipt of payment (not applicable to Guangdong Scheme/Fujian Scheme);

is not in receipt of any other allowance under the Scheme or assistance under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme;

is not being detained in legal custody or admitted to a penal institution; and

fulfils the following eligibility criteria required by the individual allowance:

(a) Normal Disability Allowance

	he/she is certified by the Director of Health or the Chief Executive, Hospital Authority to be severely disabled; and

	his/her disabling condition will persist for at least 6 months.

(b) Higher Disability Allowance

	in addition to meeting the eligibility criteria for Normal Disability Allowance above, he/she must be certified by the Director of Health or the Chief Executive, Hospital Authority to be in need of constant attendance from others in his/her daily life; and

	he/she is not receiving care in residential institutions subsidised by the government (including subsidized places in subvented/contract homes and residential care homes under various bought place schemes) or all public hospitals and institutions under the Hospital Authority, or boarding in special schools under the Education Bureau.
	Note: (1) A Disability Allowance applicant staying in a private hospital might be considered by his/her attending registered medical practitioner unsuitable to be brought to any of the public hospitals/clinics for medical assessment. Under this exceptional circumstance, the Department can accept the medical assessment made by the attending registered medical practitioner of the private hospital subject to meeting other prescribed conditions. For details, please contact the social security field unit concerned. (2) If a Higher Disability Allowance applicant has been admitted into the above residential institutions/public hospitals and institutions for receiving care or special schools under the Education Bureau for boarding service at the time of application, he/she will only be given Normal Disability Allowance. As for existing Higher Disability Allowance recipient, his/her allowance will be adjusted to Normal Disability Allowance if he/she has been admitted into residential institutions/public hospitals and institutions for receiving care or special schools under the Education Bureau for boarding service for more than 29 days.

	he/she is aged 70 or above.

(d) Old Age Living Allowance

he/she is aged 65 or above and has monthly income and assets not exceeding the prescribed limits.

(e) Guangdong Scheme and Fujian Scheme

The Guangdong Scheme and Fujian Scheme comprise Old Age Allowance and Old Age Living Allowance. For details of the Guangdong Scheme and Fujian Scheme, please refer to the website of Guangdong Scheme/Fujian Scheme.

Amount Payable

Allowances are paid at a flat rate to eligible applicants.

Note: A monthly Transport Supplement is payable to eligible Disability Allowance applicants who are in the age group of 12 to 64 to encourage them to participate more in activities away from home, thereby enhancing their integration into society. It is paid at a flat rate together with the allowance to eligible Disability Allowance applicants.

How to apply

A Disability Allowance/Old Age Allowance/Old Age Living Allowance applicant or his/her relative/friend can make an application directly with a social security field unit near to his/her place of residence by phone, by fax, by e-mail, by post, by online form or in person. An application may also be made through a referral to the Social Welfare Department by another government department or non-governmental organization. The applicant can also download the "Social Security Allowance Scheme Application Form" from this homepage and return the completed application form, together with photocopies of relevant supporting documents, to social security field unit by mail or in person (for details, please refer to the "Application for Social Security Allowance Guidance Notes").

For details about the application procedures for Guangdong Scheme/Fujian Scheme, please refer to the website of Guangdong Scheme/Fujian Scheme.

Note: The Department accepts application for Old Age Allowance/Old Age Living Allowance/Guangdong Scheme/Fujian Scheme within one month prior to the applicant's reaching the respective qualifying age (i.e. the 65th or 70th birthday) for the allowance. Under this arrangement, the payment of Old Age Allowance/Old Age Living Allowance/Guangdong Scheme/Fujian Scheme will be calculated from the date the applicant fulfils the qualifying age and satisfies all the eligibility criteria.

Payment of Allowance

Payment will be calculated from the date of receipt of application by the Department (or the date of application or referral if the application is referred by another organisation) or the date of eligibility, whichever is later.

Service Charge

No service charge is required.

More Information (downloadable)

Downloading of the materials for reading and printing can be done through the use of the Adobe(R) acrobat(R) reader software which is available free at the Adobe Systems Inc. Website. Get Adobe Reader

Description	Document Format
Pamphlet on Social Security Allowance Scheme	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	Word Document(MS Word Document)
Pamphlet on the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme and the Social Security Allowance Scheme - Residence requirements for applicants and permissible limits of absence from Hong Kong during receipt of payment	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	Word Document(MS Word Document)
Social Security Allowance Scheme Application Form	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	/
Application for Social Security Allowance Guidance Notes	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	/
Old Age Living Allowance Simplified Form and Notice to Old Age Living Allowance Applicants / Recipients	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	/
A Brief of the Social Security Allowance Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)
- Translation in Hindi	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	/
- Translation in Indonesian	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	/
- Translation in Nepali	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	/
- Translation in Tagalog	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	/
- Translation in Thai	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	/
- Translation in Urdu	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	/
- Translation in Punjabi	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	/
- Translation in Vietnamese	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	/
Pamphlet on Guangdong Scheme and Fujian Scheme	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	Word Document(MS Word Document)
Leaflet of One-year Special One-off Arrangement under Guangdong Scheme and Fujian Scheme	PDF Document(Acrobat Document)	/
Guangdong Scheme and Fujian Scheme Application Form	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	/
Application for Guangdong Scheme and Fujian Scheme Guidance Notes	PDF Document (Acrobat Document)	/
A Brief of the Social Security Allowance Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)A Brief of the Social Security Allowance Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)A Brief of the Social Security Allowance Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)A Brief of the Social Security Allowance Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)A Brief of the Social Security Allowance Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)A Brief of the Social Security Allowance Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)A Brief of the Social Security Allowance Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)A Brief of the Social Security Allowance Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)A Brief of the Social Security Allowance Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)A Brief of the Social Security Allowance Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)A Brief of the Social Security Allowance Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)A Brief of the Social Security Allowance Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)A Brief of the Social Security Allowance Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)A Brief of the Social Security Allowance Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)A Brief of the Guangdong Scheme and Fujian Scheme (in ethnic minority languages)
- Translation in Hindi	PDF Document(Acrobat Document)	/ //
- Translation in Indonesian	PDF Document(Acrobat Document)	/
- Translation in Nepali	PDF Document(Acrobat Document)	/
- Translation in Tagalog	PDF Document(Acrobat Document)	/
- Translation in Thai	PDF Document(Acrobat Document)	/
- Translation in Urdu	PDF Document(Acrobat Document)	/
- Translation in Punjabi	PDF Document(Acrobat Document)	/
- Translation in Vietnamese	PDF Document(Acrobat Document)	/

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