Centralised eMPF platform to launch in June
The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Schemes Authority on Monday said it would launch a centralised digital platform in June for citizens to manage their MPF accounts. The eMPF platform would replace the 12 existing ones operated by individual companies. The authority's chairperson, Ayesha Lau, said the one-stop-shop would make MPF account management easier.  She told a Legco meeting that the administrative fee would also be cheaper. Lau said they would transfer MPF account data from the management companies in phases. "We expect that the first trustee will be able to transfer the data of its MPF accounts to the platform in June," Lau said.  "There are many MPF accounts and the information is sensitive, so we are adopting the most stringent criteria to arrange for the transfer. To be prudent, we will migrate the data in batches from the trustees' systems to the platform in ascending order of the assets under management." Lau said the authority would aim to transfer the data of all 11 million MPF accounts to the platform by the end of next year. Meanwhile, she said the MPF offsetting mechanism would be cancelled in May 2025 as planned, meaning that employers would no longer be able to use their mandatory contributions to workers' accounts to make redundancy and long service payments. At the meeting, lawmaker Johnny Ng asked if the authority could provide more diverse investment options, like products related to the Belt and Road Initiative or virtual assets. Lau said the authority has been working to provide more investment choices, and would liaise with the Monetary Authority to look into giving MPF members the priority to purchase some of the infrastructure bonds the government issues in future.