MPF Trustees Carry a Heavy Load: Statutory Duties and Regulatory Requirements

MPF has run for over a decade since its 2000 launch, and the system works smoothly — thanks not only to the MPFA’s close supervision and the cooperation of employers and employees, but also to the pivotal role of MPF trustees. Trustees are the vital bridge between employers, employees and investment managers, and the statutory duties and regulatory demands on them are exacting.

What are an MPF trustee’s duties?

Trustees maintain the closest contact with employers and employees under the MPF system. Trustees must select qualified investment managers and custodians to protect members’ interests, ensure all their MPF schemes are managed in trust form with fund assets segregated from the trustees’ and service providers’ own assets, and monitor investment managers continuously so that investment activities comply with the law.

The bar for approved trustees

Trustees must meet strict criteria — adequate capital, financial soundness, proper qualifications and internal controls — to become approved MPF trustees. When appointing an investment manager, the trustee must verify its eligibility: a company incorporated in Hong Kong, meeting the required share capital and net assets, and licensed under the Securities and Futures Ordinance to conduct asset management, or a registered authorised financial institution.

Working with MPFA supervision

The “no-refusal” rule

If an employer, a participating employer’s relevant employee, a self-employed person or anyone else applies to become a participating employer, member or preserved-account member — providing the required information and agreeing in writing to the scheme’s governing rules — the trustee must not refuse the application.

Contribution monitoring and default reporting

Trustees must verify that contribution amounts on employers’ remittance statements are accurate and match what was paid. If an employer or self-employed person fails to pay mandatory contributions in full by the contribution day, the trustee must notify the MPFA in writing within 10 days after that day.

For how the MPF system works, see the MPF education hub.