The Government announced today (June 26) that the payment rates (including working-hour linked household allowance and Child Allowance) under the Working Family Allowance (WFA) Scheme will be raised from the claim month of July 2020. The raised payment rates are in the Annex. Taking a four-person household with two children as an example, its maximum allowance receivable will increase by more than 30 per cent from $3,200 to $4,200 per month.
The implementation of raising WFA payment rates is in tandem with a series of improvement measures for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme announced in the Chief Executive's 2019 Policy Address. This is to maintain the relativity between WFA and CSSA and encourage WFA households to become self-reliant, so that they will not be discouraged to remain in employment and resort to CSSA. The CSSA improvement measures were approved by the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council on May 29, 2020, and the Social Welfare Department has announced that the increase in CSSA maximum rent allowance will take effect on July 1.
For enquiries on WFA, applicants and beneficiaries may call the hotline (2558 3000) of the Working Family Allowance Office (WFAO) of the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency; visit the WFAO's enquiry counters at 9/F, 181 Hoi Bun Road, Kwun Tong; or visit the WFAO's website (www.wfsfaa.gov.hk/wfao).
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