MPF covers 70% of Hong Kong’s workforce: know the three retirement pillars

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

A decade after launch, the MPF covered 70 per cent of Hong Kong’s working population as of the second quarter of 2011, with 41 schemes and 424 constituent funds on the market. At the same time, the MPFA was consulting on letting terminally ill members withdraw early — a sign the young system was still evolving.

What is MPF?

MPF (the Mandatory Provident Fund) is one of Hong Kong’s three retirement-protection pillars: once enrolled in an MPF scheme, both employer and employee must contribute regularly to fund workers’ future retirement. The other two pillars are the social-security safety net, and private savings and insurance. The system launched in December 2000; before that only about a third of the workforce had retirement protection, through civil-service pensions, teachers’ pensions and voluntary employer schemes.

How big was the system?

Figures from April to June 2011:

How were young people taught about MPF?

To reach youth, the MPFA launched a Facebook page called “Money Management Master” (滾續達人) covering money management, the MPF system and investment knowledge, and produced a Liberal Studies teaching kit for the new senior-secondary curriculum.

Could the terminally ill withdraw early?

A December 17, 2011 Ta Kung Pao report said the MPFA had proposed allowing members with terminal illness to withdraw MPF early — but ruled out early withdrawal for home purchases or children’s education — and suggested letting members take accrued benefits as a lump sum or in instalments. Public consultation was underway, with implementation targeted for 2013.