Income and asset limits of Working Family Allowance Scheme to be raised
The Government announced today (March 31) that the income and asset limits of the Working Family Allowance (WFA) Scheme would be raised from April 1, 2020 (details at Annex).
Under the WFA Scheme, the claim period of an application covers the immediate past six calendar months before the submission of the application, and an eligible household has to submit an application for every claim period. The raised limits will be applicable to claim months from April 2020 to March 2021.
A household meeting the requirements on working hours as well as income and asset limits may apply for the corresponding allowance. Each eligible child may also be granted a Child Allowance. The working hour requirements for single parents are lower. Details are tabulated below:
| Full-rate monthly allowance (monthly household income not higher than 50 per cent of Median Monthly Domestic Household Income of economically active households (MMDHIEA)) |
3/4-rate monthly allowance (monthly household income of more than 50 per cent but not higher than 60 per cent of MMDHIEA) |
Half-rate monthly allowance (monthly household income of more than 60 per cent but not higher than 70 per cent of MMDHIEA) |
|
| Basic Allowance: Monthly working hours of at least 144 hours (Single-parent households: 36 hours) |
$800 | $600 | $400 |
| Medium Allowance: Monthly working hours of at least 168 hours (Single-parent households: 54 hours) |
$1,000 | $750 | $500 |
| Higher Allowance: Monthly working hours of at least 192 hours (Single-parent households: 72 hours) |
$1,200 | $900 | $600 |
| Child Allowance (Each child or youth) |
$1,000 | $750 | $500 |
Notes: All household members are allowed to aggregate their working hours for WFA applications. The WFA Scheme also covers singleton households.
Furthermore, the Chief Executive's 2019 Policy Address proposed that all rates of WFA would be increased consequential to the improvement measures of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme. The relevant recommendation will be implemented in tandem with the CSSA improvement measures subject to the approval of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council. The implementation timetable will be announced in due course.
For enquiries, applicants may call the 24-hour hotline (2558 3000) of the Working Family Allowance Office of the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency.