LegCo pay may top HK$111,000 next month

Summary

Key Points

• LegCo adjusts members’ remuneration, medical allowances and office operating expense reimbursement ceilings each year in line with changes in the Composite Consumer Price Index (C). 1
• In 2025, the government imposed a rare pay freeze across the executive, legislature and judiciary, and the Eighth LegCo kept the Seventh LegCo pay package. 1
• Current monthly pay is HK$108,790 for ordinary members, HK$217,580 for the LegCo president, and HK$163,190 for the House Committee chairperson. 1
• Members who also serve on the Executive Council receive HK$72,530 in LegCo pay after a one-third reduction, while annual medical allowance stands at HK$37,890. 1
• Based on the July year-on-year rise of 2% in the Composite Consumer Price Index (C), the annual adjustment could add about HK$2,176 a month. 1
• The Legislative Council Secretariat usually announces the exact adjustment for the new year in October, using the latest year-on-year movement in the Composite Consumer Price Index (C) as the reference point. This year, the index had only been updated to July at the time of the report, but recent monthly readings had broadly stayed around 2%. 1
• The report said Hong Kong’s public finances had improved this year and there was no special reason to depart from the established mechanism, suggesting salaries and allowances would return to automatic adjustment. It also noted that all civil servants received a flat 2% pay rise from April this year, while politically appointed officials received a 1.3% adjustment in July under their own mechanism. 1
• Beyond pay, the article described unease within the current legislature over visibility and performance measurement. It said some returning lawmakers who had once been active in public had become more low-profile in the current term, with one member saying policy advocacy now happens more through behind-the-scenes lobbying and direct communication with officials than through public statements. 1
• According to the report, members are now required not only to submit two public work reports each year for public inspection, but also an internal report detailing district visits, the number of residents met, and the number of articles and policy commentaries published. Some lawmakers were said to question whether parts of that reporting could be meaningfully quantified, while others joked that colleagues in the same functional sector might need to compare figures in advance so that no one’s totals stood out too sharply and created pressure on peers. 1
• The article also said some legislators believe demands for a more unified line have increased in the current political environment, and that leaks can trigger internal efforts to identify the source. One senior member was quoted as saying those more willing to speak out tend to be older or already secure in their careers, while members still building their professional futures may be more cautious about public positioning. 1

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