MPFA posts near-HK$100 million loss as investment income plunges 60%; headcount more than doubles in five years

Over a decade into the MPF system, its regulator — the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority — has recorded its second-largest loss ever: investment income crashed 60% year on year while operating expenses rose 10%, producing a deficit of nearly HK$100 million.

How bad are the MPFA’s finances?

For the year to end-March, net investment income was just HK$276 million, down 60% from HK$640 million the year before; total income including other revenue was only HK$286 million. As income plunged, staff remuneration alone consumed HK$250 million, and total spending including rent and publicity hit HK$385 million — up 8.8% — leaving a HK$98.92 million deficit, the worst operating year since the HK$500 million financial-crisis loss of 2008.

How bloated is the headcount?

Staff numbers reached 694 at end-March, up 1.1 times from 322 in March 2006 — more than doubling in five years, including over 100 added in the year from April 2007 to March 2008. Legislators criticised the authority as over-expanded yet persistently weak at tackling non-compliant employers — hard to justify to the public.

How did the MPFA respond?

A spokesman blamed volatile global markets for the investment-income drop but insisted finances remain sound with day-to-day operations unaffected; the HK$5 billion one-off government grant had grown to HK$5.34 billion by end-March. The authority runs mainly on investment returns from that grant, plus modest scheme application and annual fees. Workers wanting to understand the MPFA’s role can browse MPF educational resources.