MPF System

Withdrawal of MPF

Withdrawal of MPF Upon Retirement  

Under the MPF legislation, scheme members may only withdraw their MPF derived from their mandatory contributions and tax deductible voluntary contributions (TVC) upon reaching age 65, except for certain specific circumstances.

 

When scheme members reach the age of 65, they can choose one of the following ways to manage their MPF:

 

• Withdrawal by instalments

• Withdrawal in one lump sum

• Remaining in the MPF scheme for continuous investment

 

Will trustees charge a fee for withdrawal by instalments?

Every year, trustees are required to process at least the first four withdrawals free of charge*.
 
Trustees may have different policies and arrangements for withdrawal by instalments. Before making an application, scheme members should therefore contact their trustees or make use of MPFA’s Trustee Service Comparative Platform to obtain more information. 
* Other than necessary transaction costs, which are incurred, or reasonably likely to be incurred, by the trustee in selling or purchasing investments in order to give effect to the payment; and payable to a party other than that trustee.

How to apply for MPF withdrawal?

If a member decides to withdraw his/her MPF, the member should send a completed claim form and the required supporting documents to the relevant trustee* (Note: Do not send the documents to MPFA). The documents that must be provided are as follows:

* MPF trustees and their schemes will get onboard the eMPF Platform in sequence one by one. When the scheme has got onboard to the Platform, eMPF Company will utilize the eMPF Platform to perform the administration of the scheme, provide scheme administration services to employer, scheme member and self-employed person and handle the service instructions. From then on, employer, scheme member and self-employed person can manage your MPF on the eMPF Platform and should no longer submit service instructions to MPF trustee; the eMPF Platform will provide the relevant information and/or documents to you directly. Please visit eMPF Website (www.empf.org.hk) for the onboarding timeline of MPF scheme(s) and the relevant information.
Withdrawal Grounds
Required Documents
Reaching the age of 65 
  1. Identity document (e.g. HKID Card)
  2. Claim form for payment of MPF on grounds of attaining the retirement age of 65 or early retirement [MPF(S) – W(R)]

Scheme members who are unsure how many personal accounts they have or whether they have any unclaimed benefits may contact MPFA.

Factors to consider and points to note

Scheme members should pay attention to the following points before making a decision on how to manage their MPF :

Consider personal needs
Members should consider the amount of personal assets they have and their daily needs after retirement. For instance,  whether they will be in need of cash to cover their daily expenses or for other purposes.

Understand how MPF funds work
MPF is invested in MPF funds and the price of fund units will change according to market fluctuations. As such, the value of MPF held by a scheme member is determined by the current market price of the MPF funds.

When scheme members withdraw their MPF, trustees will sell their fund units in their accounts at the current market price and pay the relevant amount to the scheme members. As it takes time to process the withdrawal applications, the fund price may vary subject to market fluctuations. As a result, the final price of the fund units may differ from the price when the withdrawal application was made.

Understand the rules for withdrawing voluntary contributions
Withdrawal of MPF derived from voluntary contributions is subject to the governing rules of the scheme concerned. If scheme members have voluntary contributions in their accounts, they should contact their trustees for the withdrawal rules for voluntary contributions.

Be aware of the conditions associated with a guaranteed fund
If scheme members have invested in a guaranteed fund, they should check whether withdrawal in a lump sum or by instalments will result in the failure to fulfil certain qualifying conditions, such as the minimum investment period. If scheme members make withdrawal before the expiry of such minimum investment period, they will not be eligible for the guaranteed returns.

Timely review of  fund choices
MPF that are not withdrawn will be kept in the account for further investment. Scheme members should regularly review their investment portfolio, and consider whether they need to make any adjustments.

Be aware of investment risks
Regardless of whether scheme members choose to withdraw their MPF by instalments or retain them all in their accounts, any MPF not withdrawn will continue to be invested. The value of these assets may change due to market fluctuations.

In addition, members’ accounts will be subject to management fees and other charges by the trustees as usual based on the total value of MPF assets in the members’ accounts.