Legco Urges Cut In Special Needs Trust Costs

Legco's welfare panel has passed a non-binding motion calling on the government to lower the costs associated with a trust fund scheme for children with special needs.

The scheme is aimed at helping parents who worry about care arrangements for their special needs children once they pass away. It will start accepting applications this month.

Under the plan, parents can set up a special needs trust account with the director of social welfare as the trustee. Parents will have to make a will specifying that their assets will be transferred to the account after they die, as well as designating their child's future carer and how the money should be used.

The trust will make regular payments to the carers.

Those who wish to join the scheme will first have pay at least HK$225,000 when they set up the account. And once the trust account is activated, an annual management fee of HK$21,000 will be deducted.

Lawmakers at a Legco welfare panel meeting said both figures are too high and they have put a dampener on the scheme.

The Labour Party's Fernando Cheung said the plan would only help well-off families as they can avoid the expense and hassle of setting up a private trust. He said average families can't really benefit because of the high rates.

Cheung said the scheme's fees have already put off many families who had initially been interested.

Welfare secretary Law Chi-kwong admitted that the design of the scheme is not ideal, but said this set-up cost is required because after someone dies, it takes time for their estate to be settled.

"We would like to have a kind of deposit so that we have time for the director of social welfare to act according to the instructions," he said.

Officials also said the annual fees are needed to cover the management and administrative costs of running the scheme. And when the trust accounts are out of money, the beneficiaries will be referred to relevant welfare service units according to their needs.