The Civil Service Bureau valued Hong Kong’s statutory pension commitment at HK$924.8 billion as at 31 March 2025. The figure represents projected future payments, not a bill due in one lump sum. About 40% relates to serving civil servants and judicial officers, and 60% to retirees.
The Bureau expects pension payments to continue for 40 to 50 years or longer. Annual spending is forecast to begin declining gradually after the mid-2030s.
About 163,000 retired civil servants and judicial officers receive pensions, with nearly half aged 60 to 69, according to the Bureau. The civil-service pension plan applies to civil servants hired before 1 June 2000.
The number of pension recipients rose from about 150,000 in 2021/22 to more than 160,000 in 2025/26. Over the same period, annual pension spending increased from about HK$42.2 billion to more than HK$50 billion.
Pensions rose by 2.1% in 2025/26 under the existing adjustment mechanism, adding an average of about HK$370 a month for each recipient. Those retiring during that financial year had an average monthly pension of about HK$20,200, compared with about HK$17,700 for people who had retired earlier.
Legislator Alan Chan Chung-yee asked whether the government would study issuing about HK$650 billion in inflation-linked bonds to lock in pension costs. Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung said the government had no plan to change pension amounts or payment methods.