HONG KONG – The Legislative Council on Friday approved the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (General) (Amendment) Regulation 2025, which provides the necessary legal basis for the implementation of the phase one proposal of Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) "Full Portability".
Welcoming the approval, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government expects that the phase one proposal will be implemented within the next year.
Employees whose employment commences on or after May 1 this year may by then transfer accrued benefits derived from employer mandatory contributions in respect of the current employment in its entire amount from a contribution account of the MPF scheme participated in by the employer to a personal account of an MPF scheme of their own choice, the government said in a statement.
They can make the transfer once every calendar year or more than once in every calendar year if the governing rules of the MPF scheme from which the accrued benefits are transferred so provide.
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Speaking about the approval, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu said the phase one proposal will help strengthen new employees’ control over their MPF benefits, encouraging them to more proactively manage their MPF accounts and investment strategies.
“It will also help promote competition in the MPF market, and encourage trustees to continue to reduce fees, improve fund performances and enhance service quality, such that the working population's retirement reserve will be strengthened as a result,” he added.
Taking into account the onboarding progress of the eMPF Platform and the time required for completing all necessary administrative and other groundwork and putting thorough risk control in place, the HKSAR government said it expects to implement the phase one proposal of "Full Portability" by 2026.
Regarding the phase two proposal benefitting employees whose employment commenced before May 1 this year, the secretary said the SAR government will commence the relevant legislative amendments within next year to shorten the lead time between the implementation of the two proposals as far as possible.
