MPF Early Withdrawal for Terminal Illness: MPFA Board Gives In-Principle Approval

“Money you can’t live to spend” — the phrase captures the frustration of many seriously ill workers. At its board meeting on 22 September 2011, the MPFA accepted the report of its working group reviewing MPF benefit withdrawal: only employees suffering critical illness — especially terminal patients — may withdraw contributions early; ordinary critical illness or illness of a dependent immediate family member are merely under consideration, while long-term illness, home purchase, unemployment and children’s education are excluded outright. Some legislators called the bar too high — otherwise members would have “money but no life to spend it on”.

How Would MPF Early Withdrawal for Terminal Illness Work?

MPF early withdrawal for terminal illness means: a patient diagnosed by a doctor as having only a limited remaining lifespan may withdraw part or even all of their MPF contributions early; the MPFA board (22 September 2011) accepted this recommendation in principle, though the definition of terminal illness needs further discussion. Ordinary critical-illness patients, who may fully recover or regain working capacity after treatment, were only considered for partial withdrawal, with details such as the withdrawal ratio still to be discussed.

Who Would Staged MPF Withdrawal Apply To?

The board also accepted a second proposal: members need not take their MPF as a forced lump sum at 65, but may withdraw more flexibly — i.e. staged MPF withdrawal, with details such as the withdrawal ratio to be discussed, to be set out through legislative amendment. The board’s post-meeting statement said it had accepted the working group’s recommendations in principle; they will go to the MPF Schemes Advisory Committee for discussion, and the MPFA will draft papers and study the consultation approach and scope before a public consultation.

Why Do Critics Say the Bar Is Too High?

Legislator Wong Kwok-hing criticised the early-withdrawal scope as too narrow: anyone proven to suffer critical illness should be able to withdraw contributions to “save a life” — “saving people is like fighting a fire; it’s their own money, why not handle it humanely?” Society for Community Organization’s patient-rights officer Pang Hung-cheong, by contrast, called the proposal reasonable — terminal patients can no longer “see a retirement life”, and early access both simplifies later estate handling and makes their remaining days more comfortable; but he added that patients needing their contributions for treatment shows government medical support must improve and retirement protection is inadequate, suggesting a living allowance for those in need. For the current withdrawal rules, see the MPF education hub.