ABSTRACT
With Hong Kong facing a rapidly ageing society, a privately operated Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) scheme has been introduced, but it will take another 30-40 years for the scheme to provide sufficient income protection to the younger workforce. Hong Kong has been known for its reliance on the family rather than on publicly financed social welfare programmes to provide social protection against contingencies. This chapter provides an analysis of these programmes in the context of economic recession and demographic transition. The operation of the MPF is basically dependent on the private sector, while the government acts as a regulator. Being financed folly by public funds, the public assistance scheme and the long-term care system have to face the issue of mounting demands and expenditures. The chapter, based on the Hong Kong experience, discerns key lessons for other countries.
