Hong Kong starts MPF Full Portability for newer staff on 21 December

Hong Kong starts MPF Full Portability for newer staff on 21 December

16 October 2026: Employees in Hong Kong who joined their current employer on or after 1 May 2025 will be able to move the full value of their employer's mandatory MPF contributions into a scheme of their own choice from 21 December 2026. The Government gazetted the commencement notice for Phase One of MPF "Full Portability" on 16 October.

Not yet independently verified. This item rests on the Government press release alone. We have not yet read guidance from the MPF Schemes Authority or the trustees on how transfer requests will be handled from 21 December. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

What changes for employees

Until now, the employer's mandatory contributions for a current job have stayed in the scheme the employer chose. Under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (General) (Amendment) Regulation 2025, enacted by the Legislative Council on 26 September 2025, a "new employee" in this sense can transfer that whole amount from the contribution account in the employer's scheme to a personal account in any MPF scheme. The transfer is allowed once every calendar year, or more often where the rules of the scheme the money leaves allow it.

The rule applies only to the employer's mandatory contributions for the current employment, and only to staff whose employment began on or after 1 May 2025. Everyone hired before that date waits for Phase Two.

Why the Government is doing it

"This will strengthen New EEs' control over their MPF benefits," said Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury. He said the change should encourage employees to manage their MPF investments more actively, promote competition between schemes and create room for lower fees, and that it meets the 2026 Policy Address commitment to start Phase One within 2026.

Dates for employers and payroll teams

The commencement notice goes before the Legislative Council on 21 October for negative vetting, the procedure under which subsidiary legislation stands unless amended. For Phase Two, covering the remaining employees, the Government says it is preparing the legislation and will introduce an amendment bill by mid-2027.

Employers keep paying contributions into their chosen scheme as before; what changes is where an eligible employee's balance can go afterwards. HR and payroll teams can expect questions from staff hired since May 2025, and will need each employee's start date of employment to hand, since that date decides eligibility. Our payroll software category lists 13 products.

Related on TrustList:

• India raises the EPFO wage ceiling to Rs 25,000 a month: employees earning Rs 15,000 to 25,000 now come under mandatory PF
• Ireland lifts PRSI by 0.15 points for payrolls from 1 October

Sources

• HKSAR Government: MPF Schemes (General) (Amendment) Regulation 2025 (Commencement) Notice gazetted, 16 October 2026