Eight in ten MPF complaints were employer default contributions: unpacking the February 2012 figures

More than a decade after the MPF’s launch, employer breaches were still common. Fresh February 2012 figures from the MPFA showed 336 complaints that month — over 83 per cent of them about employers defaulting on MPF contributions, by far the biggest complaint category.

How many complaints, and of what kind?

In February 2012 the MPFA received 336 complaints, more than 83 per cent of them concerning employer default contributions. The rest involved employers failing to enrol staff, failing to keep contribution records, or forcing employees to become self-employed.

How did the authorities enforce the rules?

That same month the MPFA sent surcharge notices to recover defaulted contributions to more than 20,000 employers, and issued 81 summonses to prosecute defaulting employers. Separately, the Labour Department received 36 MPF-related complaints in January–February 2012:

How could employees protect themselves?

If you suspected your employer was defaulting on contributions, the direct move was to complain to the MPFA, which could pursue surcharges and prosecutions. Default contributions not only erode your retirement savings — they are illegal.