More than half of Hong Kong's existing 19,000 retirement schemes are unlikely to continue operating after the launch of the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF).
This is according to Hendena Yu, executive director of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority.
Ms Yu believes as many as 10,000 pension plans - under the Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance (Orso) - will be wound up and the assets transferred to MPF plans.
This would include the 5,000 plans set up after the MPF exemption deadline of October 15, 1995, she said.
Of the 14,000 schemes qualified for exemptions to set up MPF plans, not all would go ahead, she said. This was because under the MPF ordinance, employers faced having to run MPF plans in addition to their Orso schemes.
'There are 5,000 Orso schemes operated by companies with less than 10 staff,' Ms Yu said.