However, the question is whether it will be possible to generate just enough inflation and then stop, or whether it will be impossible to shut the floodgates once the flow of money has started to reach full force. There are also interesting technicalities that differ from country to country that could be decisive for whether helicopter money could work differently to normal loan-financed fiscal policy stimulation measures. Does the central bank pay interest on central bank reserves and can cash be redeemed against these on a one-to-one basis? If prices do not increase one-to-one with the increase in the banknote volume (electronic or paper), a proportion of the increase in the banknote volume will closely resemble a debt increase, as the Riksbank will pay interest on this in the future. 18  Abolishing cash – or manner a negative interest rate on it Another suggestion from the literature focuses on the reason the lower bound for the policy rate exists, namely the existence of a risk-free asset with a return of 0 – cash. If interest rates become negative enough, households (in the case of the banks’ deposit rates) or the banks (in the case of the central bank’s deposit rates) will instead withdraw cash. Consequently, it is not possible to cut the level of interest rates indefinitely.
When the couple reaches the age of 70, they are entitled to a non-means tested Old Age Allowance of $ $ x 2) provided by the Government. So this couple will be receiving up to $ (or $ per month or around $ (or $ per year, and have the benefit of being able to stay in their own property, for life. Compared with the median income of two-person households in Hong Kong of $ (or $ per month,1 this guaranteed monthly payout of $ would really help support a decent retirement life and protect the retirees from highly volatile market risks and from increasingly high longevity risk. Conclusion 9. I would like to conclude by making the following observations: The Reverse Mortgage Programme and the Life Annuity Scheme, when combined, will create an economic outcome similar to a life pension. This self-made pension is (a) a market based solution to provide steady cash flows for life by liquefying the fixed and financial assets accumulated by the retirees during their working life. The schemes are commercially and financially viable and will therefore not involve Government subsidies; 3/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  The launch of the Life Annuity Scheme has helped promote the annuity market in Hong Kong, which has up till now been rather underdeveloped. In 2016, the annuity business only accounted for less than 2% of all long-term insurance business of (b) private insurers in Hong Kong.