FAQs for Employers

1.	My sons and daughters are helping me in running my family business. Do I need to enroll them in an MPF scheme?
	Answer:	If you are employing your family members to run your family business and if they live at the same address as you, then you are not required to enroll them in an MPF scheme. However, if they do not live at the same address as you, then you have to enroll them in an MPF scheme.
2.	I am running a business on the Mainland. Do I need to enroll my employees who are locally employed on the Mainland in an MPF scheme?
	Answer:	You are not required to enroll your employees who are local Chinese in an MPF scheme. The MPF System aims to provide retirement benefits only to members of the workforce in Hong Kong.
3.	I am employing a maid to undertake domestic work for me. Do I need to enroll her in an MPF scheme?
	Answer:	"Domestic employees" are exempt persons and are not required to join an MPF Scheme.
4.	I have hired a few overseas employees to work for me. Do I need to enroll these expatriates in MPF schemes?
	Answer:	If the period during which your expatriate employees is given permission to land or remain in Hong Kong for employment purposes does not exceed 13 months, or if the expatriate employees are members of a provident, pension, retirement or superannuation scheme run in a jurisdiction outside Hong Kong, they are exempted from the MPF Schemes Ordinance and do not need to join an MPF scheme.
5.	An expatriate in our company was given permission to stay in Hong Kong for nine months but later the permission had been extended for another nine months. Do I need to enroll him in an MPF scheme?
	Answer:	Assuming your expatriate employee is not covered by any overseas retirement scheme, he ceases to be exempted from the MPF Schemes Ordinance from the 14th month onwards. You therefore need to enroll your expatriate employee in an MPF scheme within 60 days from the end of the 13-month period.
6.	My expatriate employee is a member of an overseas retirement scheme. Does that scheme have to be approved or recognized by the MPFA?
	Answer:	No. There is no requirement for an overseas scheme to be approved, or recognized by, or registered with the MPFA. As long as the scheme is a scheme registered or domiciled outside Hong Kong and the person concerned meets the exemption conditions specified in the legislation, the person is automatically exempted from the MPF Schemes Ordinance.
7.	I am operating a ship management company and I employ a number of seamen to work on board ocean-going vessels. Do I need to enroll those seamen in an MPF scheme?
	Answer:	No. Any person who is serving under a crew agreement within the meaning of the Merchant Shipping (Seafarers) Ordinance, or who is serving on board a ship not registered in Hong Kong, is exempted from the MPF Schemes Ordinance.
8.	I am a hawker and I have a few employees working for me. Am I covered by the MPF System?
	Answer:	Hawkers are exempted from the MPF System. If you are a hawker and hire employees, then you are considered to be an employer. You must, in your capacity as an employer, enroll your employees in an MPF scheme. If you are a "self-employed hawker" and do not have any other hawkers (employees) under your employment, you are exempted from the MPF Schemes Ordinance.
9.	Who chooses an MPF scheme?
	Answer:	Under the MPF Schemes Ordinance, employers are required to enroll all their relevant employees in an MPF scheme. As an employer, you may choose one or more of the available approved MPF schemes for your employees. However, you may wish to consult your employees when choosing an MPF scheme.
10.	Can my employees make their own choice of MPF schemes and ask me to enroll them in these schemes?
	Answer:	As an employer, you have the right to choose the MPF scheme for your employees. However, you may choose to enroll your employees in any MPF scheme they choose themselves.
11.	Can I enroll my employees in different MPF schemes?
	Answer:	Yes, but you should not enroll an employee in more than one scheme at a time.
12.	What should I consider when choosing an MPF scheme?
	Answer:	Although all MPF schemes have to comply with the provisions of the MPF Schemes Ordinance, each MPF scheme has its own governing rules and constituent funds, and each constituent fund will have its own investment policy. As an employer, you should be aware of the different options available in the market and consider factors including governing rules of the scheme, investment policies, fees and charges payable under the scheme, and so on. You may also consult your employees in selecting the right MPF scheme that you and your employees consider most suitable.
13.	Do I need to submit an application to the MPFA for the MPF scheme in which I propose to enroll my employees?
	Answer:	If you intend to participate in a master trust scheme or an industry scheme, you do not need to submit any application to the MPFA. You are simply required to follow the relevant enrolment procedures, such as filling in an enrolment form, as required by your scheme trustee. If you intend to set up your own employer-sponsored scheme, you should consult a lawyer regarding the establishment of the scheme. You must also appoint an approved trustee for your scheme who will then submit your scheme to the MPFA for approval.
14.	What would I receive after I have enrolled my employees in an MPF scheme?
	Answer:	After your application for membership of an MPF scheme is submitted, you will be given notice of acceptance within 30 days from the date on which you submit all the information required for the application, or from the date on which you agree to observe and accept the governing rules of the scheme, whichever is later. Your scheme trustee will report your participation in the scheme to the MPFA. Upon receipt of such information, the MPFA will issue a participation certificate to you. If you are an employer, you are required to display this participation certificate at the premises where your employees were employed. If your employees do not perform work at your premises, you should display the certificate at your principal place of business. The displayed certificate may either be the original certificate or a certified copy issued by the MPFA.
15.	If I have enrolled my employees in different MPF schemes, do I need to display all the participation certificates?
	Answer:	Yes. But if you have more than one office and the employees in each of your offices are participating in different MPF schemes, you are only required to display at the relevant office the relevant participation certificates in respect of the schemes your employees working at that office are members of.
16.	If I have more than one office, how should I display the participation certificates?
	Answer:	If your employees work at different offices, you should request the MPFA, through your service provider, to issue a sufficient number of certified copies of the certificate for display at all relevant offices. If you are occupying several floors in the same building, you are only required to display one certificate per building.
17.	How do I know whether a scheme is an MPF scheme and whether a trustee is approved by the MPFA?
	Answer:	The MPFA keeps registers of all registered MPF schemes and approved trustees. Members of the public are welcome to inspect the registers at the office of the MPFA or on MPFA's website at the Registers and Useful Lists section.
18.	There are many agents in the market selling MPF schemes. How do I know if these people really know MPF?
	Answer:	Anyone selling MPF schemes, or advising clients on constituent funds or underlying approved pooled investment funds of MPF schemes, must be registered as an MPF intermediary. MPF intermediaries are required to pass an examination before they are issued with intermediary certificates. There is clear identification on the intermediary certificate indicating whether the MPF intermediary is permitted to sell MPF schemes without rendering specific investment advice, or whether he is permitted to advise on securities and/or insurance policies. In the initial contact with clients, an intermediary should identify himself by showing his business card bearing his MPF registration number and explain to clients what types of advice/service he can render in accordance with the conditions prescribed on the MPF certificate.
19.	The monthly income that I pay my employee fluctuates. Does that mean the mandatory contributions for my employee also fluctuate?
	Answer:	Yes. Mandatory contributions to be paid to an employee for a contribution period are based on the relevant income of your employee in that period. If the income of your employee in different contribution periods fluctuates, then the mandatory contributions will fluctuate correspondingly. Under the MPF Schemes Ordinance, it is the employer's responsibility to ensure the calculations of the relevant income and contributions of an employee are accurate.
20.	I provide some non-monetary benefits, such as air tickets, to my employees. Will such benefits form part of the "relevant income" of my employees?
	Answer:	No. Non-monetary benefits will not be regarded as "relevant income".
21.	What is "contribution period" and how should I make contributions for each contribution period?
	Answer:	"Contribution period" refers to each period for which the employer pays income to the employee. Under the MPF Schemes Ordinance, an employer is required to make mandatory contributions in respect of an employee by the "contribution day". This is the 10th calendar day after the last day of a calendar month within which the relevant contribution period ends. If the contribution period of an employee is from the first day of a month to the last day of the same month, then you must pay the mandatory contributions to the scheme trustee not later than the 10th calendar day after the end of the month. (Note: The contribution day is not affected by the "pay day", i.e. whether the employer pays the employee at, before or after the end of the month.)
22.	What should be included in the remittance statement for making mandatory contributions to my scheme trustee? Do I need to submit the remittance statement to the MPFA for approval?
	Answer:	The remittance statement should include the following information: amount of the income for the contribution period concerned; amount of employer's portion of mandatory contribution paid for that contribution period; amount of employee's portion of mandatory contribution paid for that contribution period; amount of employer's voluntary contribution paid, if any; amount of employee's voluntary contribution paid, if any. You are not required to submit the remittance statement to the MPFA for approval.
23.	Should I inform my employees of the amount of mandatory contributions made on their behalf?
	Answer:	As an employer, you are required to provide monthly pay-records to each of your employees within seven working days after the mandatory contributions are made. Information in the pay-record should include the employee's relevant income, the amount of contributions made and the date the contributions were paid to the scheme trustee.
24.	What happens if I delay or am unable to settle the payment of mandatory contributions for my employees?
	Answer:	An employer who fails to make mandatory contributions for the previous month by the contribution day (i.e. the 10th day of a month) commits an offence.  Apart from being imposed a surcharge, you may be subject to a financial penalty of $5,000 or 10% of the amount of default contributions (whichever is greater). Defaulting employer may also be prosecuted.  An offender is liable to a maximum penalty of imprisonment for 6 months and a fine of $100,000 on the first conviction.
25.	The law only requires me to pay a mandatory contribution of 5% of my employee's income. Can I make extra contributions for my employees?
	Answer:	Yes. You are free to make voluntary contributions for your employee additionally. Normally your MPF scheme will have governing rules providing for the payment, vesting and withdrawal of benefits accrued from voluntary contributions paid for your employees' benefit.
26.	If I am not satisfied with the performance of the MPF scheme in which I have enrolled my employees, can I change schemes? What should I do?
	Answer:	Yes. You have the right to switch to another MPF scheme and transfer the accrued benefits of your employees into that scheme. To start the transfer process, you have to provide a written application to the trustee of the new scheme. Upon receipt of your application, the new trustee will arrange with the existing trustee to complete the transfer.
27.	What should I do if my employee ceases employment?
	Answer:	Within 10 days after the last day of the calendar month in which the employee ceases employment, you must send a written notice to your MPF scheme trustee stating the date on which the employment ceased. You may also inform the trustee of the employee's cessation of employment in the remittance statement. The employee's accrued benefits will be retained in the scheme until the employee elects for a transfer.
28.	What should I do if I need to pay Severance or Long Service Payments ("SP/LSP") to my employee?
	Answer:	An employer is bound by the Employment Ordinance to pay SP/LSP to an employee where applicable. After paying the SP/LSP, you can apply to your scheme trustee to withdraw the relevant amount from the accrued benefits derived from your mandatory contributions (and voluntary contributions, if any) to offset the SP/LSP.
29.	How should I calculate mandatory contributions for casual employees who are paid on a daily basis?
	Answer:	For a casual employee who is a member of an Industry Scheme and is remunerated on a daily basis, you may make mandatory contributions in accordance with the scale of contributions as shown below: Scale of contribution¡]HK$¡^ Daily Income Employer's Contribution Employee's Contribution Total Contributions Less than 160 7.5 Not required 7.5 160 or more but less than 260 7.5 7.5 15 260 or more but less than 390 15 15 30 390 or more but less than 520 22.5 22.5 45 520 or more but not more than 650 30 30 60 More than 650 30 30 60