Workers set to get more say in managing MPF funds
Workers set to get more say in managing MPF funds
The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority believes it is time to give employees full control over where their savings should be kept. File photo: RTHK
The body which manages retirement savings for the city's workers says that over
HK$50 billion of contributions have been transferred under an arrangement which gives employees more say on how to manage their mandatory provident fund (MPF).
The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) added it is now inviting public views on how to make it even more flexible for people to switch between scheme providers.
In an article published on Monday, MPFA chairman Ayesha Lau described 2025 as a pivotal year for Hong Kong's MPF system.
First, an electronic MPF platform will be fully implemented by the end of the year, making it easier for workers to manage their portfolios.
An offsetting mechanism which allows employers to settle severance or long service payments using employees' savings will also be abolished in May, nearly three years after a law amendment was passed.
Finally, the MPFA is also looking to build on the success of the so-called 'semi-portability' arrangement.
Officially known as the Employee Choice Arrangement, it enables workers to move their employee mandatory contributions to a different scheme provider once a year.
Lau said the scheme facilitated over one million transfers since 2012, totalling over HK$50 billion.
An average of HK$4.8 billion was transferred each year between 2020 and 2024, 27 percent more than the annual average in the previous five-year period.
The MPFA is now hoping to expand the scheme so workers can also transfer their employers' contributions, an arrangement known as 'full portability'.
A one-month public consultation is under way and people can submit their views by next Monday.
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