The latest data from the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) shows that in the first quarter of this year, there were 6,500 claims for early withdrawal of MPF contributions due to permanent departure from Hong Kong. This number decreased by 9.72% quarterly and 2.99% annually, involving an amount of 15.07 billion Hong Kong dollars, which decreased by 10.72% quarterly and 4.2% annually.
As of the end of March this year, the total value of MPF assets stood at 1.18 trillion Hong Kong dollars, representing a 1.29-fold increase compared to a decade ago. Since the implementation of the MPF system in 2000, the average annualized net return of equity funds and mixed asset funds, which together account for nearly 80% of MPF assets, has been 3.8%, outperforming the inflation rate of 1.8% over the same period. The cumulative net return of these two types of funds is 1.38 times and 1.36 times, respectively.
As of the end of March this year, 3.31 million MPF accounts were invested in constituent funds under the Default Investment Strategy (DIS), accounting for about 30% of all 11.1 million MPF accounts, with the investment total value reaching 117.76 billion Hong Kong dollars, representing 10% of the total MPF assets.
Since the launch of the Default Investment Strategy on April 1, 2017, the core accumulation fund and the post-65 fund have recorded average annualized net returns of 6% and 2%, respectively, as of the end of March this year. The cumulative net returns of these two funds are 50.2% and 14.6%, respectively. As of the end of March, there were 76,000 Tax Deductible Voluntary Contributions (TVC) accounts, showing a 10% annual increase. The total contributions to TVC since its implementation amounted to 10.51 billion Hong Kong dollars.
In the first quarter of this year, total contributions to the MPF reached 22.89 billion Hong Kong dollars, an increase of 7% from the previous quarter, with 171.1 billion Hong Kong dollars (75%) contributed as mandatory contributions and 57.8 billion Hong Kong dollars (25%) as voluntary contributions. The total amount of benefits paid out amounted to 9.79 billion Hong Kong dollars, representing a 2% decrease from the previous quarter.