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The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) welcomes the Government’s gazettal today of the Commencement Notice stipulating that the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 will come into effect on 1 April 2017^1, and the Default Investment Strategy (DIS) will be launched on the same day.
 
The DIS is a ready-made investment solution with fee caps. When the Amendment Ordinance comes into effect, each MPF scheme has to offer the DIS to scheme members as an investment choice. For scheme members who have not provided MPF investment instructions, their MPF benefits will be invested in accordance with the DIS. All scheme members may also choose to invest in accordance with the DIS at any time.
 
From December 2016 to January 2017, trustees will send a DIS Pre-Implementation Notice to all scheme members, explaining how the DIS may affect their MPF investments.
 
The MPFA reminds scheme members to make sure their trustees have their latest correspondence address so that they will receive important DIS information from the trustees in a timely manner. Members who are unsure whether they have given their trustees MPF investment instructions should check with their trustees immediately.
 
Meanwhile, the MPFA and trustees are preparing for the launch of the DIS. For the MPFA, the major tasks include processing trustees’ applications for approval of the DIS constituent funds and scheme documents, and promulgating guidelines relating to the implementation of the DIS. As for the trustees, their work includes enhancing their MPF administration and computer systems, amending the relevant MPF scheme documents and operating procedures, and revising their internal control measures.
 
To ensure scheme members fully understand the DIS and the transitional arrangement, the MPFA has rolled out a publicity and education programme. A thematic programme on managing MPF accounts was launched earlier to encourage all scheme members to update their correspondence address with their trustees, thus enabling them to receive notices about the DIS, as well as other important MPF information, in a timely manner.
 
Starting from December 2016, the MPFA will organize a series of programmes to widely publicize the commencement date of the DIS and its features; as well as to explain the impact of the implementation of the DIS on scheme members, and to urge scheme members to watch out for and read the notices issued by their trustees to see if the DIS has any impact on them.
 
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14 October 2016