Launch of Low-income Working Family Allowance Scheme

Promoting economic development and improving people's livelihood are two major policy directions of the current-term Government, and poverty alleviation is a priority in improving the people's livelihood. I proposed to introduce a Low-income Working Family Allowance (LIFA) in the 2014 Policy Address. Starting from tomorrow, application forms for the LIFA Scheme will be available.

I admire Hong Kong people's spirit of self-reliance. The LIFA Scheme is so designed to encourage employment and reward those who work longer hours with a higher allowance. By providing support to those low-income working families who are not receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, the LIFA Scheme helps alleviate inter-generational poverty and is expected to benefit more than 200 000 families with some 700 000 people in total. The estimated expenditure on the LIFA Scheme is about $2.9 billion per year.

The current-term Government will keep up its efforts to promote economic development, including cultivating new industries and looking for new partners in overseas, so as to provide more opportunities for our young people and more support for people in need.

March 31, 2016