Changing jobs? Three ways to handle your accrued MPF benefits

Ah Chik’s old friend Tsun-fung is about to become a father and has found a new job with steadier hours for family time. He asks: after a job change, what can I do with the accrued benefits in my old account — must they move to the new employer’s scheme? Not necessarily, says Ah Chik — there are three options.

Option one: how do you open a preserved account with your chosen scheme?

Pick your preferred scheme or trustee, then choose funds. Open a preserved account with a scheme or trustee you like, transfer the old account’s accrued benefits there, and select funds or a portfolio to keep investing. The upside: a portfolio whose risk profile and asset allocation best match your needs.

Option two: what should you watch if you stay with the old scheme?

Fine if you’re happy with the service — but many accounts get messy. If you’re satisfied with the old trustee’s service and fund choices, keep the benefits in the old scheme via a preserved account and reselect funds. But Ah Chik warns frequent job-hoppers can end up with too many preserved accounts to manage, and scattered assets make strategy and performance reviews harder. Preserved accounts take no new contributions but still invest per your instructions, so fees still apply — consider consolidating.

Option three: what limits apply when moving to the new employer.s scheme?

Easy to manage, but the move is one-way. Transferring benefits to the new employer’s scheme is simple to manage — but once moved, they can’t shift again until employment ends and the benefits land in a preserved account.

Before changing jobs, compare scheme fund choices at MPF fund comparison.