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Jacky Wong

Students may not see the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Scheme as their cup of tea, but for employees and employers it is a part of life.

In 1995, the Government enacted the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance to provide a system of retirement protection. The scheme was implemented on December 1, 2000.

The MPF Scheme requires employees and self-employed people aged between 18 and 65 to make regular contributions to registered MPF funds. Mandatory contributions are 10 per cent of an employee's relevant income, with the employer and employee each contributing five per cent of the relevant salary.

Self-employed people are also required to contribute five per cent of their relevant income, and may choose to contribute on a monthly basis or a yearly basis.

When you leave school to find a job or  start your own business you will be required to  join the MPF scheme, and should understand how it works. One place to turn for information is the Internet.

The Mandatory Provident Fund Authority (MPFA)  promotes the schemes online. Visit the official Web site at http://www.mpfahk.org for a wealth of information. It is a good idea to  become acquainted with  the MPF's official governing body, the MPFA, which oversees implementation of the scheme.

To help people understand the differences between the MPF Scheme and the existing occupational retirement schemes, the authority's official site highlights key features of the scheme, in cluding an explanation of the rights and duties of employers and employees.

Many 'official' sites employ a fairly blunt presentation  with a heavy emphasis on text. This one is an exception.

To promote the scheme in an entertaining way,  the site features an interactive games corner to enhance people's understanding of the MPF.

To reduce the burden of determining mandatory contributions, visitors can download calculation software from the site.

The   site provides information to help people to learn more about what the MPF was set up to do.

MPFA also uses the mass media to promote a better awareness of the scheme.

If you have missed the authority's promotional  campaign, the Web site includes  audiovisual clips to remind users of the TV commercials and programmes about the scheme which were broadcast prior to its introduction.

As the governing body, MPFA  must ensure the scheme's smooth operation, but it does  not provide any particular scheme for employees or employers to join. Only banks, insurance companies and financial companies are allowed to provide their own schemes.

At present there are more than 20 MPF service providers in  Hong Kong. Most have their own sites to promote their products and to help members  use the Internet to make or reallocate their contributions.  Here are some examples.

HSBC

(http://www.mpfdirect.com)

As Hong Kong's largest commercial bank, HSBC has the added  advantage of providing its own scheme to employers and employees. The site has both English and Chinese versions and is characterised by an effective presentation of information. The site  provides a five-step guide to the scheme, and  payroll software entitled MPFdirect for users to download. Visitors to the site whose work-station does not have broadband services installed may find the download very slow.

AIA

(http://www.mpf-aiajf.com)

American International Assurance (AIA) had a long history in life insurance before moving into MPF.  Like the HSBC site, the AIA-Jardine Fleming Fund Web Site is well developed and presented. It provides a wealth of information, and outperforms the HSBC in providing a fund selection test for people to assess their risk tolerance before selecting an investment portfolio.

Manulife

(http://www.mpf.com.hk)

Following AIA's lead, Manulife also branched out into the  fledging MPF market. Comparatively speaking, Manulife's site is a bit simple at first glance. However, if you click the e-MPF icon, you will receive a wealth of MPF information similar to that provided on the HSBC and AIA-JF sites: e-MPF specifically targets clients who are comfortable using the Internet to make MPF contributions and contributions inquiries.

Internet penetration is high in the mainland, according to a China Internet Network Information Centre  report conducted between November 2000 and January of this year. The report says the number of Internet users in China has reached 22.5 million. This includes 3.64 million users on leased lines and 15.43 million users on dial-up connections.

The report says the number of domain names ending in 'cn', the country designator for China, has reached 122,099, and the total number of Chinese Web sites bearing domain names that include 'cn', '.com', '.net' and '.org' has reached 265,405.

Graphic: YPWWWGLO



Get a handle on the MPF