MPF System

Types of MPF Schemes

Industry Schemes are specially designed for casual employees of the catering industry and the construction industry. Casual employees are persons employed on a day-to-day basis or for a fixed period of less than 60 days.

Besides casual employees, regular employees (i.e. non-casual employees) in the catering industry and the construction industry can also participate in Industry Schemes. However, their contributions shall be calculated in the same way as those for other regular employees.

The following types of accounts can be set up under Industry Schemes:

Learn more about registered MPF schemes and customer services provided by MPF trustees.

Coverage of the two industries under Industry Schemes

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For the purpose of Industry Schemes, the catering industry covers businesses that hold food business licences or permits under the Food Business Regulation, canteens at schools and workplaces, and catering establishments inside clubs. Examples include:

Food factories, milk factories, frozen confection factories and bakeries
Restaurants
Factory canteens
Siu mei or lo mei shops
Cold stores

Fresh provision shops
Cooked food stalls operating in public markets
Cooked food stalls which are granted hawker licences
Chinese herb tea shops
Composite food shops

For the purpose of Industry Schemes, the construction industry covers the following eight broad categories of works:

Foundation and associated works
Civil engineering and associated works
Demolition and structural alteration works
Refurbishment and maintenance works

General building construction works
Fire services, mechanical, electrical and associated works
Gas, plumbing, drainage and associated works
Interior fitting-out works

The following are examples of establishments and units engaged in construction works:

Registered with the Buildings Department:

General building contractors
Specialist contractors in the ventilation works category

Registered with the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department:

Electrical contractors
Lift or escalator contractors
Contractors for builders’ lifts
Gas contractors

Others:

Fire service installation contractors registered with the Fire Services Department
Holders of a plumber's licence issued by the Water Supplies Department
Public works contractors approved by the Works Branch of the Development Bureau
All sub-contractors to which projects or works are awarded directly or indirectly from any contractors specified in 1 to 9 above

Why participate in Industry Schemes?

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Casual employees need not switch schemes and open a new account when they change jobs within the catering industry and the construction industry, as long as their previous and new employers are participating in the same Industry Scheme.

Casual employees can manage all their MPF investments and monitor their employers’ contributions effectively. Trustees can also keep employees updated with the latest information on their MPF contributions.

Casual employees can open accounts under the two Industry Schemes and obtain Casual Employee Cards in advance.

Upon changing jobs, a casual employee can simply present his/her Casual Employee Card or provide his/her account number to his/her new employer. If the new employer is also participating in the same Industry Scheme, the employer will be able to make contributions for the employee without opening a new account.

If employers make contributions for their casual employees on the next working day following the pay day, they are not required to provide the employees with monthly pay-records nor to keep records of the contribution details, such as:

relevant income
contribution amount
contribution date

In addition, when a casual employee terminates employment, his/her employer is not required to inform the trustee of the termination.

How to participate in Industry Schemes?

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If a casual employee does not have an account under the same Industry Scheme in which his/her employer is participating, the employer is required to enrol the employee in the same Industry Scheme and return the enrolment form to the trustee within the first 10 days of employment.

If the 10th day of employment is a Saturday, a public holiday or a gale/black rainstorm warning day, the enrolment deadline is extended to the next day which is not a Saturday, a public holiday or a gale/black rainstorm warning day.

On enrolling their employees in the Industry Schemes, employers should ensure that their employees provide the following information in the enrolment form:

full name of employee
HKID number
date of birth
contact information (residential address and telephone number)
employee’s fund choices, if any
tax residency self-certification (i.e. declaration on whether the employee is a tax resident outside Hong Kong)

If employees have not indicated any fund choices, their contributions will be invested according to the Default Investment Strategy (DIS).

If employees fail to provide their tax residency self-certification, their trustees will not be able to complete the account opening procedures.

If an employee refuses to complete the enrolment form properly or return the form to his/her employer, the employer should still submit the incomplete form to the trustee by the 10th day of employment.

Steps to apply for a Casual Employee Card:

Obtain an enrolment form from the trustee of the Industry Scheme.
Complete and return the form, together with the necessary supporting documents (if applicable), to the trustee. Remember to fill in the contact details and indicate fund choices in the form.
Complete tax residency self-certification (i.e. declaration on whether the employee is a tax resident outside Hong Kong).
Upon successful enrolment, the trustee will notify and send the casual employee a Casual Employee Card by mail.

Bank of East Asia (Trustees) Limited (BEA)	Bank Consortium Trust Company Limited (BCT)
https://www.hkbea.com/mpfform	https://www.bcthk.com/en/enroll
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How to make contributions to Industry Schemes?

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Contribution periods of casual employees may differ in length, e.g. daily or weekly.

Unlike regular employees, casual employees do not have a contribution holiday. Regardless of the type of schemes they are participating in, casual employees and employers are required to make contributions from the first day of employment.

Both casual employees and employers should refer to the following contribution scale and make contributions according to the employees’ daily relevant income:

Contribution scale

Daily Relevant Income	Mandatory Contributions By Employer	Mandatory Contributions By Employee
Less than $280	$10	Not required
$280 to less than $350	$15	$15
$350 to less than $450	$20	$20
$450 to less than $550	$25	$25
$550 to less than $650	$30	$30
$650 to less than $750	$35	$35
$750 to less than $850	$40	$40
$850 to less than $950	$45	$45
$950 or more^#	$50	$50

^#This income band includes the daily maximum relevant income level (i.e. $1,000) and the maximum contribution amount (i.e. $50). Even if the daily relevant income of a casual employee exceeds $1,000, the daily contributions by the employee and the employer remain at $50 each.

Daily-rated

Daily-rated casual employees are paid on a daily basis. They are usually paid every day upon completion of work. Employers should check the employees’ daily relevant income against the contribution scale and make the corresponding contributions.

If a daily-rated casual employee is not paid on a daily basis (e.g. paid weekly or twice a month), the employer should add up the daily contributions payable in the contribution period to arrive at the total amount of contributions payable.

Non-daily-rated

Non-daily-rated casual employees are paid according to their wage period (e.g. paid weekly or monthly).

Steps to calculate the contributions payable for the non-daily-rated employees are as follows:

Average daily relevant income = Relevant income earned in a wage period ÷ No. of working days in the wage period
Daily contributions ＝ Corresponding contributions to the average daily relevant income on the contribution scale
Total contributions ＝ Daily contributions x No. of working days in the wage period

Example:

Ms A usually works five days a week with a weekly income of $5,000. However, in a particular month, Ms A worked five days in the first week, and two days in the second week. As a result, she earned only $2,000 in the second week. The contributions payable by Ms A and her employer for the two weeks are calculated as follows:

Column Header	First Week	Second Week
Weekly Income	$5,000	$2,000
Working Days	5	2
Average Daily Relevant Income	$1,000 ($5,000 ÷ 5 working days）	$1,000 ($2,000 ÷ 2 working days)
Daily Contributions	$50 (Income falls in the income band “$950 or more” on the contribution scale)	$50 (Income falls in the income band “$950 or more” on the contribution scale)
Employee’s Contributions	$250 ($50 × 5 working days)	$100 ($50 × 2 working days)
Employer’s Contributions	$250 ($50 × 5 working days)	$100 ($50 × 2 working days)
Total Contributions	$500	$200

Employers are required to make mandatory contributions to MPF trustees for a contribution period on or before the contribution day.

Employers can choose one of the following days as their contribution day:

the next working day after the pay day; or
the 10th day after each contribution period.

Example 1:

Mr B makes contributions for his casual employees weekly (i.e. the contribution period is seven days) and pays the wages on the last day of the contribution period. For the contribution period from 1 July to 7 July, the contribution day is:

8 July, if he chooses to make contributions on the next working day after the pay day; or
17 July, if he chooses to make contributions on the 10th day after the contribution period.

If the contribution day is a Saturday, a public holiday or a gale/black rainstorm warning day, the contribution day is extended to the next day which is not a Saturday, a public holiday or a gale/black rainstorm warning day.

If employers choose the next working day after the pay day as the contribution day, they are not required to provide monthly pay-records to their employees nor to keep contribution records.

Example 2:

Mr Y makes contributions for his casual employees on a half-monthly basis (i.e. the contribution periods are from 1 to 15 and from 16 to the end of each month) and chooses to make the contributions on the 10th day after each contribution period.

If one of the casual employees of Mr Y reaches the age of 65 on 21 November, both Mr Y and the casual employee should make mandatory contributions for relevant income earned by the employee for the period before the employee’s attainment of the age of 65. The last contribution period for the employee should end on the day before his attainment of age 65 (i.e. the last contribution period should start from 16 November and end on 20 November). Mr Y should make the last contributions for the employee on or before the 10th day after the contribution period end day (i.e. 20 November). If the casual employee remains in the same employment after the attainment of the age of 65, no mandatory contribution is required to be made by both Mr Y and the casual employee for income earned by the employee after his attainment of the age of 65.

If the contribution day is a Saturday, a public holiday or a gale/black rainstorm warning day, the contribution day is extended to the next day which is not a Saturday, a public holiday or a gale/black rainstorm warning day.

Industry Scheme trustees would list all contributions received in respect of a casual employee from different employers in a month in the employee’s Monthly Benefit Statement.

To protect their own interests, employees should check their benefit statements carefully to ensure that their employers have made contributions on time. Employees can also contact their trustees directly for further information.

MPF Tips

If employers choose to enrol their casual employees in a Master Trust Scheme, the contribution arrangements will be different. Please click here for details of contribution arrangements.