Forgotten preserved accounts? Workers hold 1.5 on average — consolidate them

The MPF is more than a decade old and many workers want to pick their own providers. AIA Pension and Trustee senior vice-president Alice Tse says that before the Employee Choice Arrangement lands, workers can’t yet move current-employment mandatory contributions to a preferred provider — but they can consolidate preserved accounts left unmanaged after job changes into the provider that suits them best.

Why consolidate preserved accounts?

The average employee holds about 1.5 preserved accounts. Per the MPFA’s March statistical digest, job-hopping is common in a buoyant labour market, yet most leavers never instruct their old provider what to do with accrued benefits within 90 days of departure. With too many accounts, reviewing and comparing fund performance means poring over benefit statements from different providers, issued on different cycles and in different formats — a real time sink.

What’s the risk of too many accounts?

They get forgotten and the investments ignored. Tse says some workers skip consolidation when they change jobs and eventually forget the accounts exist; the investments inside go unmanaged and can’t be adjusted when markets shift or personal goals change. When consolidating, consider an open fund-manager platform for more efficient fund allocation later.

Before consolidating and choosing a trustee, compare schemes at MPF fund comparison.