bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

EMPLOYEES IN ALL industries, including the banking and finance sectors, should keep an eye on the performance of their Mandatory Provident Funds as well as their employers' payments, according to the Mandatory Provident Fund Authority.

The organisation is running an 18-month public awareness campaign to make sure that Hongkongers know their rights and are getting the most out of the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF).

People could check employers' contributions to the scheme through ATMs or with their selected MPF trustees' websites and hotlines.

The authority's Tsui Kwok-chuen said the first phase of the campaign was aimed at getting people involved in protecting and enhancing their own MPF funds.

'[We] started to roll out a publicity/public education campaign to remind the scheme members of the

need to take care of their

MPF investment, and to reinforce their understanding of the MPF system,' Mr Tsui said.

The authority started fining unco-operative employers 10per cent of the amount they left in arrears in September 2006, an increase of 5 per cent,  but the authority suspects that this increase might not have been enough.

Its campaign therefore also encourages employees whose firms aren't contributing to the plan to report them to the authority.

There were  7,833 complaints about employers who defaulted payments or had not joined  the scheme in the 2005-2006 financial year - 1,313 less than the previous period and 2,371 less than in 2003-2004.

The authority filed 86 claims in the district court, two claims  in the high court and 909 cases  went to the small claims tribunal. The  authority also made 369 cases to liquidators on behalf of 7,370 employees for unpaid superannuation contributions.

The district and high court cases were the most cost effective and helped the most employees, according to MPFA documents.

The MPF is the city's main work-based superannuation scheme installed to cope with Hong Kong's ageing population. The MPFA predicts that 27 per cent of Hong Kong's  population  will be retired by 2033, placing a massive burden on the economy, especially as only one third of employees

had a retirement plan in place before the MPF was implemented.

The number of firms and people involved in retirement schemes has skyrocketed since the programme came into being in 2000.

As of September last year, only 4 per cent of Hong Kong's employable population had yet to join the MPF scheme, with 68 per cent covered by the MPF and 18 per cent covered by other schemes.

Employers choose one of 13 trustee companies as service providers under the scheme. After that,  employees select one of  these companies' products to subscribe to.

There are now 40 MPF schemes, 312 approved constituent funds and 282 approved pooled investment funds available to invest in.

Employees get to review their fund policies every 12 months, but can do so more frequently if they ask.

Mr Tsui said it was important for subscribers to be aware of their needs and risk appetites, and should choose their investments accordingly.



Campaign to raise public awareness