96 Financial and Monetary Affairs
attains the retirement age of 65 unless the member meets any of the statutory conditions for early withdrawal of benefits. At the end of 2011, 98 per cent of employers (about 252 500), 99 per cent of relevant employees (about 2 344 300) and 70 per cent of self-employed persons (about 229 400) participated in MPF schemes. Total MPF assets amounted to about $356 billion.
Unlike the mandatory MPF schemes, occupational retirement schemes registered under the Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance (ORSO) are voluntary schemes established by employers. To tie in with the implementation of the MPF system in 2000, ORSO schemes that can fulfil certain conditions can apply for exemptions from MPF requirements. Members of ORSO schemes that have been granted exemption may choose to remain in the existing ORSO scheme or join an MPF scheme. At the end of 2011, there were 3 804 MPF-exempted ORSO registered schemes covering over 369 900 employees.
end)
Statistics on MPF schemes and MPF-exempted ORSO registered schemes (year-
2009
2010
2011
MPF Enrolment
Number of participating employers
Number of participating relevant employees
Number of participating self-employed persons
MPF Enrolment Rate (per cent)
Employers
Relevant employees
Self-employed persons
MPF Schemes
Number of registered schemes
238 400
244 000 252 500
2 209 000 2 261 600 2 344 300
263 200
260 500
229 400
100
99
98
100
99
99
76
80
70
38
41
41
369
421
445
Number of approved constituent funds
MPF-exempted ORSO Registered Schemes
Number of MPF-exempted ORSO registered schemes
4 127
3 948
3 804
Number of participating employees in MPF-exempted ORSO registered schemes
403 500
380 200
369 900
Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA)
Established in September 1998 under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (MPFSO), the MPFA is responsible for regulating and supervising the MPF System. The prime objectives of the MPFA are to ensure compliance with the MPFSO and protect the interests of scheme members. It is also the Registrar of ORSO