XN000022-1995-07-27 — Page 11

Providing retirement protection

3 -

The question of how best to provide retirement protection for the workforce has been the subject of intense debate for more than a generation. The discussion has been especially concentrated in the last three years. While we have all been in agreement that employees and the self-employed deserve to be able to live in dignity and financial security during their retirement years, the best way of providing for, such retirement protection has always eluded us until now. The MPF provides a good, pragmatic answer to this question, and has wide support within the community. It also addresses many of the points of criticism that arose during the public consultation exercise on the Old Age Pension Scheme (OPS).

Wishes of the community

It is not true to say, as claimed by some Members, that the community has had inadequate time to consider the MPF. It was the community that supported the MPF in the first place. Submissions on the OPS indicated that:

(a)

(b)

there was now likely to be greater public acceptance of a mandatory, privately managed provident fund system; and

such a system should be set up as soon as possible.

The community, Mr President, wanted reality, in the shape of a real retirement protection system, not a further round of inconclusive consultation.

Intensive consultation with those most directly affected by the MPF, i.e. employers' and employees' representatives, both before and after the Motion Debate on 8 March, reinforced our view that we are moving in accordance with the community's wishes. The two-stage approach which we are now taking in drawing up the necessary legislation is a positive response to public demands for the Bill to be enacted as soon as possible. This response has met with public approval.