MPF Rules in Plain English
The MPFA publishes 68 guidelines governing how MPF works. Here is what each one is actually about — and a link to read it yourself.
Read this first
- Every summary on this page is written by us, in our own words. None of it is MPFA wording, and none of it is a substitute for reading the guideline itself.
- We deliberately do not restate rates, thresholds or deadlines here — those change. Where a figure does appear, it is sourced and linked directly beneath it.
- This is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. It does not take your circumstances into account. For anything that affects a decision, check the official text and speak to a qualified professional.
- MPFcomparison.com is an independent aggregator and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for the MPFA. The MPFA retains copyright in its source materials.
Are these actually law?
Not quite — and the distinction matters. The MPFA issues these guidelines under section 6H of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap 485), to help trustees, employers, employees, self-employed people and others comply with the rules.
In the MPFA's own words, such guidelines are not subsidiary legislation, and a person does not incur civil or criminal liability only because they have contravened one. But that is not the same as them being toothless: if a court is satisfied a guideline is relevant to a matter in issue, the guideline is admissible in evidence, and either side may rely on whether it was followed.
In practice: guidelines are how the regulator says the system should run, and how compliance gets measured. Read them as the standard, not as the statute.
How this page is sorted
Most of the 68 guidelines are aimed at trustees, custodians and investment managers — not at you. So rather than list them in official order and leave you to guess, we have tagged each one by who it actually lands on.
Rules you can actually feel — your contributions, your choices, your money coming out.
Obligations that sit on your employer. Worth knowing so you can tell when something has been missed.
Rules binding trustees, custodians and managers. You will rarely deal with these, but they are why the system holds together.
All 68 guidelines
Showing all 68 guidelines.
Part I — Licensing
11Who is allowed to run an MPF scheme at all, and the vetting they must pass first.
- I.1Background machinery
The vetting a company must pass before it may act as an MPF trustee — and the separate approval anyone needs before they can control one.
Official title: Guidelines on Application for Approval as Approved Trustees and Application for Approval as Controllers of Approved Trustees
Read the official guideline - I.2Background machinery
How a provider applies to register a brand-new MPF scheme.
Official title: Guidelines on Application for Registration of Provident Fund Schemes
Read the official guideline - I.3Background machinery
Rules for the institution that physically holds the scheme's assets — kept separate from the trustee's own money.
Official title: Guidelines on Custodians
Read the official guideline - I.4Background machinery
Which insurers are allowed to underwrite MPF insurance and guarantee arrangements.
Official title: Guidelines on Eligible Insurers
Read the official guideline - I.5Background machinery
How each individual fund you can pick inside a scheme gets approved before it is offered to you.
Official title: Guidelines on Application for Approval of Constituent Funds
Read the official guideline - I.6Background machinery
Approval for the underlying pooled vehicles that the funds you pick actually invest into.
Official title: Guidelines on Application for Approval of Pooled Investment Funds
Read the official guideline - I.7Background machineryRevised Jul 2026
Which central securities depositories are approved to hold and settle MPF investments.
Official title: Guidelines on Central Securities Depositories
Read the official guideline - I.8Background machinery
What must be written into the contract between a trustee and its custodian (and any sub-custodian).
Official title: Guidelines on Custodial / Subcustodial Agreement
Read the official guideline - I.9Background machinery
Which credit-rating agencies' ratings count when testing whether an investment is high enough quality to hold.
Official title: Guidelines on Approved Credit Rating Agencies
Read the official guideline - I.10Background machinery
How approval for a fund is cancelled — the process behind a fund you hold being closed down or merged away.
Official title: Guidelines on Application for Cancellation of Approval of Constituent Funds
Read the official guideline - I.11Background machinery
The same cancellation process, applied to the underlying pooled funds.
Official title: Guidelines on Application for Cancellation of Approval of Pooled Investment Funds
Read the official guideline
Part II — Reporting Requirements
7What your trustee must report to the regulator, and how often.
- II.1Background machinery
The monthly figures every registered scheme must file with the MPFA.
Official title: Guidelines on Monthly Returns of Registered Schemes
Read the official guideline - II.2Background machinery
Extra monthly reporting for the pooled funds sitting behind capital preservation funds.
Official title: Guidelines on Monthly Returns of Approved Pooled Investment Funds being Capital Preservation Funds
Read the official guideline - II.3Background machinery
The quarterly statistics that feed the system-wide MPF data the MPFA publishes.
Official title: Guidelines on Quarterly Statistical Returns of Registered Schemes
Read the official guideline - II.4Background machinery
The audited annual accounts a scheme must produce each year.
Official title: Guidelines on Annual Statements of Registered Schemes
Read the official guideline - II.5Background machinery
The same audited annual accounts, for the underlying pooled funds.
Official title: Guidelines on Annual Statements of Approved Pooled Investment Funds
Read the official guideline - II.6Background machinery
An annual report on whether the trustee's own internal controls actually work.
Official title: Guidelines on Internal Control Report for Each Registered Scheme
Read the official guideline - II.9Background machinery
When something goes seriously wrong, the trustee must tell the MPFA. This sets out what counts as serious, and how quickly.
Official title: Guidelines on Notification of Events of Significant Nature
Read the official guideline
Part III — Investment
14What your money is legally allowed to be invested in, and the limits that stop a fund concentrating risk.
- III.1Background machinery
Which bonds and other debt an MPF fund may hold, and the credit quality they must meet.
Official title: Guidelines on Debt Securities
Read the official guideline - III.2Background machineryRevised Jul 2026
Which shares and other securities an MPF fund may hold, and on which markets.
Official title: Guidelines on Equities and Other Securities
Read the official guideline - III.3Background machinery
Which overseas banks are considered sound enough to hold MPF cash and deposits.
Official title: Guidelines on Eligible Overseas Banks and Authorized Financial Institutions
Read the official guideline - III.4Background machinery
The list of stock exchanges MPF funds are allowed to trade on.
Official title: Guidelines on Approved Exchanges
Read the official guideline - III.5Background machinery
Who is allowed to actually manage the money, and the standards they must meet.
Official title: Guidelines on Investment Managers
Read the official guideline - III.6Affects you directly
The rules behind funds labelled “capital preservation”, including how their fee-and-return mechanism works. Preserving capital is the objective — it is not a guarantee.
Official title: Guidelines on Capital Preservation Funds
Read the official guideline - III.7Background machinery
Whether and how a fund may lend out the shares it holds for extra income, and the collateral it must take in return.
Official title: Guidelines on Securities Lending
Read the official guideline - III.8Background machinery
Rules for repo transactions — short-term borrowing secured against securities.
Official title: Guidelines on Repurchase Agreements
Read the official guideline - III.9Background machinery
How much capital an insurer must set aside to stand behind a guaranteed fund's promise.
Official title: Guidelines on Reserving Standards for Investment Guarantees
Read the official guideline - III.10Affects you directlyRevised Jul 2026
The conditions an index fund or ETF must meet to be used inside an MPF scheme — this is what makes low-cost passive options possible.
Official title: Guidelines on Index-Tracking Collective Investment Schemes
Read the official guideline - III.11Background machinery
Diversification limits — how much of a fund's money may sit with any single issuer, so a fund cannot bet everything on one name.
Official title: Guidelines on Spread Requirements
Read the official guideline - III.12Background machinery
Rules on holding cash deposits, including limits on how much may sit with one bank.
Official title: Guidelines on Deposit
Read the official guideline - III.13Background machinery
When a security that has not yet listed may still be treated as listed for investment purposes.
Official title: Guidelines on Requirements for Securities to be Considered as "to be Listed"
Read the official guideline - III.14Affects you directlyRevised Jul 2026
The DIS — the ready-made, fee-capped strategy your money goes into if you never actively pick a fund. Built from two funds, with risk automatically dialled down as you approach retirement.
Official title: Guidelines on Default Investment Strategy
Read the official guidelineIf you never chose a fund, this is where your money went
The Default Investment Strategy is what your contributions are invested in when you never make an active choice. It uses two funds — the Core Accumulation Fund, roughly 60% in higher-risk assets such as global equities, and the Age 65 Plus Fund, roughly 20%. From age 50 your holding is moved progressively out of the first and into the second, so risk falls automatically as you approach retirement. Fees are capped: management fees at 0.75% a year of net asset value, plus recurrent out-of-pocket expenses at 0.2% a year. A fee cap is not a performance promise — the DIS can still lose money.
Verify this at MPFA — Default Investment Strategy
Part IV — Scheme Operations
19Joining, paying in, transferring, and taking your money out. This is the part most members actually feel.
- IV.3Affects you directlyRevised Jul 2026
How you elect to move your MPF savings to another scheme — the mechanics behind consolidating old accounts and the Employee Choice Arrangement.
Official title: Guidelines on Election for Transfer of Accrued Benefits
Read the official guidelineMoving and consolidating your old accounts
Every time you change job you can leave behind a personal account. This guideline governs the election you make to transfer accrued benefits between schemes, which is the machinery behind consolidating those scattered accounts and behind the Employee Choice Arrangement. What you can transfer, and when, depends on which type of account and contribution it is — the source guideline sets out the specifics, and it was revised in July 2026.
Verify this at MPFA — Guidelines IV.3 - IV.4Affects you directly
What paperwork you must submit to actually claim your MPF, depending on which statutory ground you are claiming under.
Official title: Guidelines on Payment of Accrued Benefits - Documents to be Submitted
Read the official guidelineGetting your money out
MPF is preserved until retirement, with a limited set of statutory grounds on which it can be claimed earlier. This guideline covers the documents you must submit for each ground. Which grounds apply to you, and what evidence each one needs, is exactly the kind of detail worth reading at source before you file anything.
Verify this at MPFA — Guidelines IV.4 - IV.7Affects you directly
What a trustee may and may not charge you when you transfer your benefits out to another scheme.
Official title: Guidelines on Fees and Charges for Transfer of Accrued Benefits
Read the official guideline - IV.8Your employer's duty
The core employer rules — enrolling new staff into a scheme and paying contributions on time.
Official title: Guidelines on Enrolment and Contribution Arrangements for Relevant Employees Other Than Casual Employees
Read the official guideline - IV.9Your employer's duty
The variant rules for casual employees, including the industry schemes covering construction and catering.
Official title: Guidelines on Enrolment and Contribution Arrangements for Casual Employees
Read the official guideline - IV.10Affects you directly
How a self-employed person enrols in a scheme and sets up their own contributions.
Official title: Guidelines on Enrolment and Contribution Arrangements for Self-employed Persons
Read the official guideline - IV.11Your employer's duty
How contribution periods are defined — which is what decides when a payment is due, and when it is late.
Official title: Guidelines on Contribution Period in Respect of a Relevant Employee
Read the official guideline - IV.12Your employer's duty
What counts as income for MPF purposes — wages, allowances, commission and bonuses, and what is left out.
Official title: Guidelines on Relevant Income in Respect of a Relevant Employee
Read the official guideline - IV.13Affects you directly
The safety net — how members may be compensated if scheme assets are lost through misfeasance or illegal conduct.
Official title: Guidelines on Compensation Fund
Read the official guidelineWhat protects you if assets go missing
The Compensation Fund exists to compensate scheme members where MPF assets are lost as a result of misfeasance or illegal conduct. It is a backstop against wrongdoing — not insurance against your funds falling in value. Investment losses are not covered.
Verify this at MPFA — Guidelines IV.13 (PDF) - IV.14Your employer's duty
The statement an employer must send along with each contribution payment.
Official title: Guidelines on Remittance Statement
Read the official guideline - IV.15Your employer's duty
Who sits outside the MPF net altogether under section 4(3) of the Ordinance.
Official title: Guidelines on Person Exempt under section 4(3) of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance
Read the official guideline - IV.16Affects you directly
When MPF still applies to staff posted or working overseas — and when it does not.
Official title: Guidelines on MPF Coverage on Employees Working Outside Hong Kong
Read the official guideline - IV.17Affects you directly
How a self-employed person's contributions are calculated and paid across the year.
Official title: Guidelines on Contribution Arrangement of a Self-employed Person
Read the official guideline - IV.18Affects you directly
What happens to your contributions in a year your self-employed business makes a loss.
Official title: Guidelines on Contribution Arrangement for a Self-employed Person Who Sustains a Loss
Read the official guideline - IV.19Affects you directly
The income floor and ceiling that decide how much a self-employed person has to contribute.
Official title: Guidelines on Minimum and Maximum Levels of Relevant Income of a Self-employed Person
Read the official guideline - IV.20Your employer's duty
When an employer is allowed to pay contributions ahead of schedule.
Official title: Guidelines on Prepayment of Contributions
Read the official guideline - IV.22Your employer's duty
A statement an employer must give employees about the MPF arrangements being made for them.
Official title: Guidelines on Statement Required under Section 7AB of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance
Read the official guideline - IV.26Affects you directly
When your trustee may serve notices and statements on you electronically rather than on paper.
Official title: Guidelines on Giving of Notices or Documents by Electronic Means
Read the official guideline - IV.27Affects you directly
The statement you must be given when you withdraw, setting out exactly what was paid to you.
Official title: Guidelines on Benefit Payment Statement
Read the official guideline
Part V — ORSO Interface
11How MPF meshes with older ORSO occupational retirement schemes, if your employer runs one.
- V.2Background machinery
How an existing ORSO registered scheme applies to be exempted from MPF.
Official title: Guidelines on MPF Exempted ORSO Schemes - Application for Exemption of ORSO Registered Schemes
Read the official guideline - V.3Affects you directly
What happens to rights you already built up in an ORSO scheme when you move across into MPF.
Official title: Guidelines on MPF Exempted ORSO Schemes - Treatment of Accrued Rights of Existing Members who Join MPF Schemes
Read the official guideline - V.4Affects you directly
Which part of an ORSO benefit must be locked away until retirement, the same way MPF is.
Official title: Guidelines on MPF Exempted ORSO Schemes – Preservation of Benefits
Read the official guideline - V.5Affects you directly
Worked examples showing how the ORSO / MPF minimum-benefit calculations actually play out.
Official title: Guidelines on MPF Exempted ORSO Schemes - Illustrative Examples
Read the official guideline - V.6Background machinery
Approval needed before a trustee can be appointed to an exempted ORSO scheme.
Official title: Guidelines on MPF Exempted ORSO Schemes - Application for Approval of Appointment of Trustees
Read the official guideline - V.7Background machinery
The same approval requirement, for the directors of those trustees.
Official title: Guidelines on MPF Exempted ORSO Schemes - Application for Approval of Appointment of Directors of Trustees
Read the official guideline - V.8Background machinery
How an ORSO exempted scheme gives up its exemption certificate.
Official title: Guidelines on MPF Exempted ORSO Schemes - Application for Withdrawal of Exemption Certificate of an ORSO Exempted Scheme
Read the official guideline - V.9Background machinery
The same withdrawal process, for an ORSO registered scheme.
Official title: Guidelines on MPF Exempted ORSO Schemes - Application for Withdrawal of Exemption Certificate of an ORSO Registered Scheme
Read the official guideline - V.10Background machinery
The annual report an exempted ORSO scheme must file.
Official title: Guidelines on MPF Exempted ORSO Schemes - Filing of Annual Report
Read the official guideline - V.11Affects you directly
How the MPF-equivalent minimum benefit is released out of an ORSO scheme.
Official title: Guidelines on MPF Exempted ORSO Schemes - Withdrawal of Minimum MPF Benefits
Read the official guideline - V.12Background machinery
Standards for the investment managers running an exempted ORSO scheme's money.
Official title: Guidelines on MPF Exempted ORSO Schemes - Investment Managers
Read the official guideline
Part VI — Intermediaries
5The people who sell and advise on MPF — who may register, and how they must behave towards you.
- VI.1Background machinery
Who may register as an MPF intermediary, and which changes they must report once registered.
Official title: Guidelines on MPF Intermediary Registration and Notification of Changes
Read the official guideline - VI.2Affects you directly
The conduct standards anyone advising you on MPF must meet — acting honestly and in your interests, understanding your circumstances, and recommending only what is suitable for you.
Official title: Guidelines on Conduct Requirements for Registered Intermediaries
Read the official guidelineWhat you can expect from anyone selling you MPF
Anyone registered to advise on or sell MPF is bound by conduct requirements: to act honestly, fairly and in your best interests, to understand your circumstances before recommending anything, and to recommend only what is suitable for you. If you feel that did not happen, this guideline is the standard you would be measuring the conduct against — and complaints go to the MPFA, not to us.
Verify this at MPFA — Guidelines VI.2 (PDF) - VI.3Background machinery
The annual return a registered intermediary must file.
Official title: Guidelines on Annual Returns to be Delivered by Registered Intermediaries
Read the official guideline - VI.4Background machinery
The ongoing training a subsidiary intermediary must complete each year to stay registered. MPFA publishes two versions — one for 2023 and earlier, one for after.
Official title: Guidelines on Continuing Training for Subsidiary Intermediaries
Read the official guideline - VI.5Background machinery
The annual fee a registered intermediary pays to stay on the register.
Official title: Guidelines on Annual Fees for Registered Intermediaries
Read the official guideline
Part VII — Electronic MPF System
1The eMPF Platform that now centralises MPF administration.
- VII.1Affects you directly
How the administration fee rate for each fund on the eMPF Platform is worked out — the mechanism behind the platform's promised fee savings.
Official title: Guidelines on Determining Relevant Rate of Administration Fee for Constituent Fund by Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority
Read the official guideline
What changed most recently
In July 2026 the MPFA issued five revised sets of guidelines: Central Securities Depositories (I.7), Equities and Other Securities (III.2), Index-Tracking Collective Investment Schemes (III.10), Default Investment Strategy (III.14), and Election for Transfer of Accrued Benefits (IV.3). They are tagged above. The MPFA publishes its own brief describing the changes — read that rather than relying on our summary.
MPFA — brief description of the latest changes (PDF)
Always check the source
Guidelines are revised regularly, and a summary can never carry the qualifications, exceptions and definitions the real text does. Before you act on anything here — a transfer, a withdrawal, a complaint, a contribution decision — open the official guideline and read the passage that applies to you.
Go to the MPFA guidelines pageComplaints about a trustee, scheme or intermediary go to the MPFA, not to us.
Source: MPFA, “Guidelines”, mpfa.org.hk. Summaries and categorisation are our own and may contain errors or omissions; the official text always prevails. This page was last reconciled against the MPFA source list on 27 July 2026. Guidelines revoked by the MPFA are not listed. Educational information only — not financial advice.