【明報專訊】THE MANDATORY PROVIDENT FUND SCHEMES AUTHORITY (MPFA) has announced that the eMPF platform, which has been a number of years in the making, will come into operation on 26 June. All MPF schemes will be gradually migrated to the eMPF platform within 18 months.
The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) system came into effect in 2000. The purpose is to ensure that working people have a sum of money for their retirement by requiring employees and employers to make contributions, with the assets managed by trustees. According to the MPFA, the total value of MPF assets was $1.09 trillion as of the end of September last year, an increase of 123% from ten years ago. Equity funds and mixed asset funds together made up nearly 80% of the total asset value, and their cumulative net returns were 125% and 117% respectively. This translates into average annualised net returns of 3.6% and 3.5% respectively, which are higher than the annualised inflation rate of 1.8% during the same period.
However, compared with many investments, the returns of the MPF are absolutely not impressive — they can even be described as paltry. If the total assets of $1 trillion were evenly distributed among all working people in Hong Kong who have contributed to the fund, each of them would only get several hundred thousand dollars of equity, which would only be sufficient to cover a few years' retirement.
For many years, the retirement protection function of the MPF has endured skepticism. The offsetting mechanism (which benefits employers) and high management fees (which benefit fund companies) have been particularly criticised. Wage earners are the big losers. The offsetting mechanism allows employers to use their MPF contributions as severance payment and long service payment. Over the past 20 years, more than $60 billion in MPF funds that was due to wage earners has been "offset".
After years of campaigning by the labour sector, the Legislative Council finally approved the cancellation of the offsetting mechanism two years ago, which will officially come into effect on 1 May 2025. This is belated justice for wage earners. As for the problem of high management fees, the MPFA hopes that the full implementation of the eMPF platform will bring about noticeable improvements.
The launch of the eMPF platform is an important step in the improvement of the MPF system, though it has come a bit late. As with the cancellation of the offsetting mechanism, it would have saved wage earners some losses had the platform come into operation a bit earlier. The MPFA says that in the first two years after its launch, administrative fees are expected to lower by an average of 36%, and by 41% to 55% in ten years. This will involve an amount of $30 billion to $40 billion, which is definitely not small. However, administrative fees are only part of MPF-related fees. Even if the fee ratio can be reduced to 1%, it is still relatively high.
The authorities should continue to bring down MPF fees so that they are in line with the average standards of other developed economies. The authorities should also continue the improvement of the MPF system. This can include broadening the range of investments to include Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and others with a view to increasing investment returns. At the same time, they should also consider subsidising low-income people's contributions to the fund.
明報社評2024.05.03 ：「積金易」助降行政費 強積金回報待提高
積金局宣布，籌備多年的「積金易」平台，將於下月26日投入運作，所有強積金計劃將於18個月內，陸續轉移到「積金易」平台。
強積金（MPF）制度2000年實施，目的是強制僱員及僱主供款，透過受託人資產管理，確保打工仔退休時有一筆錢養老。根據積金局數字，截至去年9月底，強積金總資產值1.09萬億元，較10年前增加123%，股票基金及混合資產基金合共佔強積金總資產值近八成，兩類基金的累積淨回報分別為125%及117%，平均年率化淨回報分別為3.6%及3.5%，高於同期年率化通脹率1.8%。
然而與很多投資相比，強積金的回報，絕對談不上可觀，甚至可以說是微薄；若將1萬億元總資產，平均攤分給全港有份供款的打工仔，每人平均也只有數十萬元權益，僅夠應付數年的退休生活開支。
強積金的退休保障作用，多年來備受質疑，對冲機制及收費高昂，尤其惹人詬病，前者的得益方是僱主，後者的得益者則是基金公司，而打工仔則是大輸家。對冲制度容許僱主將其強積金供款，用作支付遣散費及長期服務金，廿多年打工仔被「冲」走的強積金超過600億元。
勞工界爭取多年，立法會終於前年通過取消對冲機制，明年5月1日正式實施，總算是還打工仔一個遲來的公道。至於強積金收費高昂的問題，積金局期望「積金易」平台全面落實後，可以帶來較明顯的改善。
「積金易」平台的推出，是改善強積金制度的重要一步，只是來得實在有點遲。就像取消對冲機制一樣，如果平台早些全面投入運作，打工仔就可以少吃一些虧。積金局表示，平台推出首兩年，預料平均可減行政費36%，10年內可減41%至55%，涉及金額累計高達300億至400億元，這當然不是一個小數目，然而行政費不過是強積金收費的其中一環；即使基金開支率可降至1%，也依然屬於偏高水平。
當局未來應繼續進一步降低強積金收費，爭取與其他發達經濟體的平均水平看齊。另外，當局亦須繼續完善強積金制度，包括拓寬投資種類，將房地產信託（REITs）、交易所買賣基金（ETF）等列入投資範圍，致力提高回報率，同時亦應考慮資助低收入人士供強積金。
■ Glossary 生字 /
in the making : in the process of becoming something or of being made
paltry : too small to be considered as important or useful
due : owed to somebody as a debt, because it is their right or because they have done something to deserve it