Pay on time — employers’ MPF duty: MPFA urges workers on HK$6,500-plus to check

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

To protect employee MPF rights, the MPFA urged workers — especially those earning HK$6,500 or more a month — to check not only that they were enrolled in an MPF scheme, but that employers contributed on time and in the correct amounts.

Employer duty: when are contributions due?

The law required employers to remit MPF contributions to the trustee’s account by the 10th day of the month after each contribution period ended. July contributions, for example, had to arrive by 10 August. With June’s contribution-level revision, July contributions for employees earning above HK$20,000 should have risen from HK$1,000 to HK$1,250 — employers were specifically reminded.

How could employees monitor?

Read the annual benefit statements and monthly fund fact sheets sent by trustees — contribution records were all there. Anyone suspecting non-enrolment or contribution defaults, or with questions about arrangements, could call the MPFA hotline 2918 0102 or visit www.mpfa.org.hk.

What did defaults cost?

The MPFA stressed that defaulting employers paid surcharges on top — and could face prosecution. On enforcement: in April 2012 alone, the authority recovered about HK$10.18 million in defaulted contributions and surcharges for roughly 3,200 employees. Paying in full and on time was both a legal duty and an employer’s basic commitment to workers’ retirement security.