Employers' reluctance to use the Internet and complicated legal requirements have made it hard for Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) providers to cut administrative costs, according to Canadian insurer Manulife.
The insurer is planning to encourage more employers to use its e-MPF platform to improve transparency and cut administrative costs.
Manulife Provident Funds president and chief executive Nicholas Crouch said employers had been slow to adopt the technology and the resultant lengthy communication process was inefficient for both parties. Just 1,500 of Manulife's 35,000 MPF employers used its e-MPF services.
Analysts said the slow adoption of new technology could delay break-even for providers.
Manulife said a complex and changing legislative environment also posed problems for MPF participants and resulted in more administrative work to amend policies.
Last week legislators voted to raise the minimum monthly salary threshold for MPF from HK$4,000 to HK$5,000, exempting about 57,000 employees from MPF payments.
