Many of us in the workforce fail to take proper measures with our MPF accounts after we change jobs a few times. As time goes on, our MPF benefits might be scattered in a number of accounts at different fund companies, making it difficult to manage  our investments and to derive the highest benefits from them.

 

But before we consolidate our accounts, we have to distinguish contribution accounts from personal accounts.  The purpose of a contribution account is to receive MPF contributions from the employee and his employer at his current employment or self-employment.  A personal account, on the other hand, is an account in which the MPF benefits accrued from the member’s former employments or self-employments are held.  When an employee leaves his old job, the accrued benefits from the previous MPF account will be transferred to a personal account.  By reviewing regularly your personal accounts, consolidating them in time when you change jobs, you will save yourself the trouble of managing multiple personal accounts and consequently missing out on any investment opportunities.

 

When you consolidate your personal accounts, you can pick the trustee and the scheme of your choice by considering such factors as the nature of the products, services, and fees against your risk tolerance level. Fill in a “Scheme member’s request for account consolidation form” and return it to the trustee.  There is no charge for transferring consolidating accounts and transferring accrued benefits.