How to read your MPF annual benefit statement in three minutes

After each financial year-end, your trustee sends you an annual benefit statement — effectively your MPF portfolio’s yearly report card. Wording varies slightly between trustees, but the contents are much the same; MPF legislation requires the statement to reach members within three months of each financial year-end. Master a few key sections and the statement becomes easy reading.

What should you look for in your annual benefit statement?

The annual benefit statement is the most comprehensive official record of your MPF balance — focus on three sections: the account assets movement summary (this year’s gain/loss), the since-inception gain/(loss) summary (cumulative performance), and the account balance. The full version details the past financial year’s contributions, transfers and fund transactions; the simplified version gives only a summary, but trustees must then make detailed data for the last six quarters available by other means.

Four steps: from statement to portfolio review

1. Start with the “account assets movement summary”: see how much the account gained or lost this financial year, set against total contributions for the period, to tell market appreciation apart from mere contribution build-up.
2. Check the “since-inception gain/(loss) summary”: this cumulative figure since you joined the scheme best reflects long-term performance and guards against being misled by a single year’s swing.
3. Verify contributions: check your employer contributed on time and in full, matching your payslips; if in doubt, call the MPFA’s contribution hotline on 183 3030.
4. Decide what stays: if a fund has long lagged its peers, consult its fact sheet on investment objective, risk level and fees before switching — never churn on one year’s numbers alone.

Beyond the statement: tracking your account day to day

The statement comes only once a year; log in to your trustee’s online platform any time to check balances and fund prices. When reviewing, compare only like-for-like funds on fees and performance, and factor in your life stage and family situation rather than copying a friend’s mix. See the MPF education hub for more guides, or browse MPF funds to compare fees and returns.