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The MPFA today (7 September) released the June 2021 issue of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Statistical Digest (Statistical Digest), a quarterly report which covers key statistical data of the MPF System up to the end of June 2021, including scheme member enrolment, the number of accounts and investment performance.

The Statistical Digest quarterly report aims to enhance the information transparency of the MPF by showing the situation and progress of the MPF System in different areas. 

The key findings in the June 2021 issue of the Statistical Digest quarterly report are as follows:

• As at the end of June 2021, total MPF assets amounted to $1.22 trillion, representing a year-on-year increase of 26%. Over $460 billion of the total MPF assets was investment returns, net of fees and charges. Total MPF assets have increased 101% over the past five years. The annualized net return was 5.1% since the inception of the MPF System in 2000, outperforming the inflation rate of 1.8% over the same period. All MPF fund types posted positive annualized net returns.
• In the second quarter of 2021, a total of $3,789 million in voluntary contributions (VCs) was received, which was the highest level of VCs received on a quarterly basis. Compared with the second quarter of 2016, the quarterly amount of VCs received increased by $1,421 million (or 60%) in the past five years. In terms of the share of total MPF contributions received in a quarter, VCs rose from 13.5% to 18.7% during this period, indicating an increasing recognition among employers and scheme members in making VCs on top of mandatory contributions to enhance the retirement protection of scheme members.
• As at the end of June 2021, about 2.49 million MPF accounts had invested all or part of their assets according to the default investment strategy (DIS) or in the two constituent funds under the DIS, accounting for 24% of a total number of 10.35 million MPF accounts at the time. The total assets invested in the DIS amounted to about $77.8 billion, accounting for 6% of total MPF assets. Over the past year, the Core Accumulation Fund and the Age 65 Plus Fund, the two constituent funds under the DIS, registered net investment returns of 21.7% and 5.8% respectively.
• In the second quarter of 2021, the total number of withdrawal claims for MPF on various grounds (including retirement and early retirement) was 60,200, a decrease of 10% compared to 66,600 in the first quarter of 2021. The number of claims for MPF on the grounds of permanent departure (PD) from Hong Kong in the second quarter of 2021 rose 4% to 8,000, compared to 7,700 in the previous quarter.

An MPFA spokesperson said that according to past statistical records, the number of PD claims fluctuated from quarter to quarter. The number of PD claims in the second quarter of 2021 (8,000) was broadly comparable with that in the past three quarters (8,100, 8,500 and 7,700 respectively). Fluctuations in the number of PD claims were also observed between years. While the number of PD claims has increased for the period of Q3 2020 – Q2 2021 as compared with that of Q3 2019 – Q2 2020, the numbers overall in each of the recent past three years have come down considerably as compared with those in the previous two years. Details are shown in the following table:

The spokesperson added that since an MPF scheme member may have more than one account under the MPF System and would make individual claims with the relevant trustees to withdraw his/her MPF from these accounts, the number of claimants involved is less than the number of claims. In addition, owing to the positive MPF investment returns and the continuous inflow of contributions, total MPF assets increased during the period and as such the amount of PD claims also increased in tandem.

Moreover, the spokesperson reiterates that PD claimants may not be emigrants. PD claimants also include those returning to their places of origin (e.g. non-local employees who have completed their employment in Hong Kong) or moving to reside in the Mainland.

－Ends－

7 September 2021