I refer to John Rempel's letter headlined 'Stop persecuting small companies' (South China Morning Post, August 10). The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) is designed to provide retirement benefits for Hong Kong's working population. As a regulator of the MPF system, our policy is, first and foremost, to protect the statutory rights of employees. We do so by taking action against those employers who intentionally dodge their MPF obligations. But as the MPF is an entirely new system involving more than two million people, the MPF Schemes Authority fully appreciates that some teething problems, particularly technical and administrative ones, are unavoidable at the initial stage of its implementation. We therefore introduced a six-month period up to June this year for all parties concerned, including employers, employees and the MPF industry, to familiarise themselves with this new system. We have also asked the providers to use more resources to ensure that sufficient backup services are provided for their clients. HEIDI KWAN Head External Affairs Division Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority
