Deep Dive: Hong Kong’s wealth gap widens as elderly poverty increases

Hong Kong’s richest are earning 81.9 times more than its poorest residents, up from 52.7 times last year, according to the local branch of an international charity.

A report released by Oxfam Hong Kong earlier this month also showed that more than 1.39 million people were living in poverty in the first quarter of this year. This represents 20.2 per cent of the city’s population.

This was higher than the 19.5 per cent recorded last year and the pre-pandemic figure of 18.3 per cent in 2019.

The charity said Hong Kong’s rapidly ageing population and increase of financially struggling elderly residents have contributed to worsening wealth inequality.

The organisation urged authorities to step up its targeted poverty alleviation efforts and help older residents return to the workforce.

“The population ageing and elderly poverty have become more serious, especially those households with elderly living alone or only with their spouses,” said Kalina Tsang Ka-wai, director general of Oxfam Hong Kong.

Tsang urged authorities to support older residents better. She said they could offer employment help and create more job opportunities in the public sector that required less physical labour.

China raises retirement ages as birth rate drops and ageing population grows

The government should also establish a database of elderly people living alone or only with their spouses, she said. They could combine data from various departments, including the Housing Authority, the Social Welfare Department and the Hospital Authority.

The report found more than 580,000 Hongkongers aged 65 and above live under the poverty line, a 42.9 per cent increase from 2019.

In addition, the number of poor households comprising elderly people living alone rose 47.2 per cent from 2019. The number sat at 131,700 during the first three months of this year.

Meanwhile, the wealthiest 10 per cent of households earned a median monthly income of HK$131,100 over the same period, up 9.3 per cent from 2019.

Terry Leung Ming-fung, Oxfam Hong Kong’s research and advocacy manager, said the labour force participation rate among the elderly stood at 13.9 per cent. The rate is lower than mainland China’s 25 per cent and Norway’s 22 per cent.

Leung said many older residents survived on government welfare allowances and didn’t have enough financial support, leading to their worsening circumstances.

Staff writers

Question prompts

1. Which of the following statements about the city’s wealth gap is true?

(1) Hong Kong’s poorest residents earn 81.9 times less than its richest ones.
(2) More than 580,000 people aged 65 and above live under the poverty line.
(3) The median monthly income of the city’s wealthiest has risen.
(4) The level of income disparity during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 was higher than this year.

A. (1), (2) only
B. (1), (2), (3) only
C. (1), (2), (4) only
D. all of the above

2. List TWO reasons why the city’s wealth gap has worsened, according to Oxfam Hong Kong.

3. According to Tsang, how could authorities support the city’s ageing residents? To what extent do you believe these measures can effectively protect the elderly from poverty? Explain using News and your own knowledge.

Question prompts

1. Using Graph, make TWO observations about income disparity in Hong Kong and how it has changed from 2019 to the first quarter of 2024.

2. Explain how the information presented in News may be reflected in the Graph. What impact could these figures have on Hong Kong?

Question prompts

1. What is the person in the picture doing? How does this relate to the information presented in News and Issue?

2. What other problems do Hong Kong’s senior citizens face besides a lack of job opportunities? Explain using News, Issue and your own knowledge.

• Experts urged the city’s government to learn from other Asian countries to tackle elderly poverty

• Hong Kong could follow the lead of Singapore and Japan, where grants and laws encourage employers to keep seniors working beyond retirement age

Hong Kong needs more incentives to keep older residents in the workforce and alleviate the issue of elderly poverty, experts have said.

The calls were made following the release of an Oxfam Hong Kong report about the city’s widening wealth inequality, highlighting the impoverished elderly.

Policies to incentivise businesses to employ the elderly and encourage older residents to continue working were crucial for Hong Kong’s ageing society, experts noted.

“Hong Kong is facing worsening population ageing, with a labour shortage and a low labour force participation rate,” labour sector lawmaker Chau Siu-chung said.

There is no statutory retirement age in Hong Kong, but most companies require staff to stop working between 60 and 65 years of age.

The labour force participation rate among the elderly stood at 13.9 per cent during the first quarter of this year, while the rate for the city’s impoverished older residents was 3.8 per cent. In Singapore, the rate among people aged 65 and above stood at 31.5 per cent last year.

Hong Kong NGO finds more than two-fifths of low-income residents battle food insecurity

Chau, from the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, asked authorities to devise measures to help incentivise employers to hire older residents, such as offering tax concessions to businesses that recruit elderly workers. Older residents should also be given rewards, such as allowances, to return to the workforce, he added.

Chau also urged authorities to follow the multipronged approaches adopted in other ageing societies like Singapore and Japan, such as introducing earned income tax credits, delayed pension payments, anti-age discrimination laws and subsidies or wage offsets for employers.

The Singaporean government offers the Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant, which provides funding support for companies to raise their internal retirement and re-employment ages above minimum statutory requirements. It also offers the Part-time Re-employment Grant to firms that provide part-time re-employment to workers aged 60 or above.

Kelvin Tan, head of an applied ageing studies programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said authorities had continuously encouraged residents to improve their skills by offering vocational and professional courses and training to help them stay employable at any age.

He noted that the country’s retirement age would rise to 64 in 2026, while the government would support employers in hiring those over the age as long as they were healthy and capable.

Terry Leung Ming-fung, research and advocacy manager of Oxfam Hong Kong, urged the city to learn from places such as Japan to create a better working environment to suit older workers’ health conditions and offer them flexible job times and arrangements.

The Japanese government offers grants to employers to partially cover expenses for providing an age-friendly work environment. A network of Silver Human Resource Centres has also been established across Japan to provide community-based short-term job opportunities for people aged 60 or above.

Staff writers

Question prompts

1. List TWO problems facing Hong Kong’s labour force, according to lawmaker Chau Siu-chung.

2. According to Issue, what can Hong Kong learn from places like Japan and Singapore with higher elderly labour force participation rates?

3. Using Issue, list TWO considerations businesses and the government must keep in mind when creating jobs for the elderly.

wealth inequality: the unequal distribution of assets and resources among individuals or groups in a society.

poverty line: the smallest amount of money a person or a family needs to live on. Oxfam Hong Kong set the poverty line at half the median household income in a recent survey.

labour force participation rate: the percentage of the population that is either working or actively looking for work.

government welfare allowances: programmes such as the Old Age Living Allowance (OALA) under the Social Security Allowance Scheme, which gives money to Hongkongers aged 65 or above in need of financial support.

incentives: rewards for doing something, such as cash, tax benefits, or special privileges.

anti-age discrimination laws: laws that ban treating people differently in the workplace because of their age.

1. B

2. Oxfam Hong Kong attributed the worsening wealth inequality to the city’s rapidly ageing population and increasing number of financially struggling elderly residents.

3. Tsang urged authorities to offer the elderly employment assistance and create more job opportunities in the public sector that required less physical labour. She also suggested that the government establish a database of elderly people living alone or with only their spouses by integrating data from various departments, including the Housing Authority, the Social Welfare Department and the Hospital Authority. This would allow them to better keep track of who needed assistance. I think these measures could be useful. Many elderly people may not be working because it is too physically demanding, but if they can find a job that is more appropriate for their abilities, they may appreciate having the chance to work and earn money. (accept all reasonable answers)

1. Hong Kong’s wealthiest 10 per cent were earning 81.9 times more than its poorest residents in the first quarter of this year. This level was higher than the pre-pandemic figure of 34.4 times more. In addition, the income of the city’s poorest residents has decreased, while the wealthy are earning more money.

2. According to Oxfam Hong Kong, the city’s population is ageing, and more people are struggling financially. This could be reflected in the numbers that show a decrease in income for the city’s poorest. This could have a massive impact on Hong Kong, as the population will only continue to age, and more people will need help. (accept all reasonable answers)

1. The elderly person is collecting used cardboard on the street, which is a common practice among elderly Hongkongers to earn extra income and as a means to make ends meet. This reflects the information in News and Issue about how older residents struggle financially.

2. There is a lack of resources and support to help the city’s elderly population stay employable. In Singapore, authorities encourage residents to improve their skills by offering vocational and professional courses and training to keep them employed. It has also introduced legislation to prevent age discrimination in the workplace. These measures don’t exist in Hong Kong.

1. Hong Kong’s population is ageing, which means people are retiring and not participating in the workforce. This has led to a labour shortage and a low labour force participation rate among the elderly.

2. Singapore offers the Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant, which funds companies to raise their internal retirement and re-employment ages above minimum statutory requirements. There is also a grant offered to firms to provide part-time re-employment to workers aged 60 or above. The city can also learn from Japan’s holistic approach that gives grants to employers to partially cover expenses for providing an age-friendly work environment. A network of Silver Human Resource Centres has also been established across Japan to provide community-based short-term job opportunities for people aged 60 or above.

3. Businesses and the government must consider senior citizens’ physical conditions. Many elderly Hong Kong residents currently work physically demanding jobs, such as collecting cardboard on the streets.

It is imperative to allocate resources and funding to ensure that senior citizens can participate in work that is suitable for their age and within an age-friendly environment. For instance, the Hong Kong government could provide vocational and professional courses and training to improve their skills and help elderly individuals remain employable regardless of age. By doing so, elderly residents can work with dignity and would not be compelled to take up jobs that involve heavy physical labour.