Do summer interns pay MPF? The 60-day rule for part-timers explained

This article is a rewrite of a report from June 2012.

Every summer, university students take short-term jobs. That year, a student named Billy started a two-and-a-half-month summer job at HK$6,500 a month and puzzled over the MPF enrolment forms: did a two-month stint really require MPF contributions? (A few garbled characters in the original have been reconstructed from context.)

Do part-time and summer workers pay MPF?

Yes. Anyone aged 18 to under 65 employed for 60 days or more must join an MPF scheme — full-time or part-time, summer jobs included. Billy’s pay exactly hit the minimum relevant income level, so he and his employer each contributed 5 per cent of his salary — HK$325 each, HK$650 combined.

How does the 60-day rule work? Is there a grace period?

Employees enjoy a contribution holiday: no employee contributions for the first 30 days of employment plus the first incomplete pay period after that. Billy joined on 15 June with month-end payroll: 15 June–14 July was his first 30 days, 15–31 July the first incomplete pay period — no employee contributions due. Only from the August payroll would HK$325 be deducted.

But employers get no holiday — the company’s contributions started from Billy’s first day at work.

Anything else to watch?

Don’t pick funds carelessly: read the scheme information, understand each fund’s characteristics, and choose to suit. As the original put it, small sums compound — don’t underestimate a thousand-odd dollars a month; managed well, they become important retirement assets.