Some LIFA applicants receive over $25,000 allowance

26 June 2016

Improving people’s livelihood is one of the top priorities on the current-term Government’s policy agenda. To strengthen support for low-income working families, especially those grassroot families with one breadwinner and a few children, the Labour and Welfare Bureau has introduced the Low-income Working Family Allowance Scheme (LIFA).

We started receiving applications for LIFA last month (May). Over 20 000 applications have been received so far. The Working Family Allowance Office (WFAO) has been sparing no efforts in processing expeditiously the applications.

The first tranche of allowance, amounting to $6,370,000 for 462 applications, was approved last week.

I am pleased that one family has received allowance amounting to $25,200. This is a family of six including four children, with the father- the sole breadwinner - working as an air-conditioning technician. This family is qualified for an allowance of $4,200 per month (made up of $1,000 Higher Allowance for the working father plus Child Allowance of $800 for every child). With the timely disbursement of this allowance, I believe that parents will be able to arrange more extra-curricular activities for their children or cover extra expenditure in the new school year.

Of the 462 successful applications, 375 were 4-member families, 76 were 5-member families, 11 were families of 6 or more. A total of 1 946 family members, including 953 children, have benefitted from the scheme.

Among the 462 applications, 392 were granted a full-rate allowance and the rest (70 applications) half-rate allowance. Over 90 per cent of the applications (428 applications) were granted Higher Allowance as the applicants’ monthly working hours reached 192 hours or more. These cases included eight families of ethnic minorities, one of which was a family of six members (with four children) and was granted an allowance amounting to $20,600 for six months.

On a district basis, there were more applicants from Kwun Tong, Kwai Tsing, Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, Sha Tin, and Sham Shui Po.

The LIFA Scheme is designed to reward those who work more and promote continuous employment. The Child Allowance is meant to promote the upward social mobility of children. For example, for an eligible family of four comprising the parents and two children who are still attending school, if the father works for more than 144 hours per month, this family may be granted an allowance of $2,200 per month. If the father works for more than 192 hours per month, this family may be qualified for a full-rate Higher Allowance ($1,000) and the allowance for the whole family will be $2,600.

If the applicant is a single parent and lives with at least one child aged below 15, he/she must work at least 36 hours in order to qualify for Basic Allowance ($600). If the applicant works 72 hours or more, the applicant may apply for Higher Allowance. Among the approved cases, 17 were single-parent families, in which 14 were granted Full-rate Higher Allowance.

There are families with income slightly above the upper limits for full-rate allowances. If their monthly income exceeds 50 per cent of the Median Monthly Domestic Household Income (MMDHI) but is not higher than 60 per cent of MMDHI, they can still apply for half-rate allowances if other eligibility criteria are met. Indeed, 70 out of the 462 approved cases have been granted half-rate allowance.

I encourage all eligible families to submit their applications on or before end-July this year. The claim period for approved applications will date back to November, 2015. For applications submitted on or after August 1, the claim period covers the past six months prior to the application.

For more details of LIFA, please visit the dedicated webpage of LIFA (lifa.gov.hk). Enquiries can be made on the 24-hour hotline 2558 3000, which will be answered by staff of WFAO.

Ends