Guangdong retirees collect their fruit money
19,000 sign up for scheme that lets them claim benefit without returning to HK
As many as 19,000 elderly Hongkongers living in Guangdong have applied to a one-off scheme that allows them to receive so-called fruit money without returning to the city, the Social Welfare Department said yesterday.
Of those, more than 16,800 people are already receiving the monthly old-age allowance of HK$1,180 under the scheme for cross-border retirees that began on October 1.
Previously, they could not receive the benefit unless they had lived in Hong Kong continuously for one year immediately before applying for the allowance.
Commonly known as "fruit money", the old-age allowance is a monthly cash subsidy paid to Hongkongers aged 65 to 69 who are on low incomes, and to all residents aged 70 and over.
A Social Welfare Department spokesman warned anyone eligible to apply for the Guangdong Scheme to do so before the deadline of September 30.
To be eligible for the scheme, elderly people must have lived in Guangdong for at least one year immediately before they apply.