The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Office expects the long-awaited scheme to be implemented by 1999 and says contributions in the first year will hit $12 billion.
The Government will submit key subsidiary legislation for the scheme to the provisional legislature on November 26, paving the way for an earlier introduction of the scheme.
The entire scheme depends on passage of the subsidiary legislation which contains crucial details such as operational and investment requirements.
MPF Office director Pamela Tan Kim Mei-wah said if the subsidiary legislation was passed by the provisional legislature before May next year, the MPF would start collecting its first contributions from employers and employees in 1999.
'In the first year of the implementation of the MPF, there will be about $12 billion contributed, increasing to $30 billion or $40 billion in 10 years' time,' she said.
Ms Tan forecast there would be about 40 service providers for the MPF schemes offering trustee services, MPF products and fund management services to the working population.
