The MPF in Hong Kong: Employer Obligations, Deadlines and Penalties in 2026

An employer in Hong Kong must enrol every employee aged 18 to 64 in a Mandatory Provident Fund scheme within the first 60 days of employment and remit monthly mandatory contributions of 5 per cent of relevant income from its own funds, plus 5 per cent deducted from the employee. The duty covers full-time and part-time employees alike. The regulator is the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA).

For monthly-paid employees the minimum and maximum relevant income levels are HK$7,100 and HK$30,000. Above the upper level the mandatory contribution from each side is capped at HK$1,500 a month.

The change already in force that alters the economics of dismissal. The offsetting arrangement was abolished on 1 May 2025: an employer may no longer use the MPF derived from its mandatory contributions to offset Long Service Payment and Severance Payment in respect of years of service from that date. The abolition has no retrospective effect, and MPF derived from employer voluntary contributions can still be used to offset. These liabilities must now be budgeted separately from the MPF.

What follows works from MPFA’s own materials: who is covered and who is exempt, the thirteen-month rule for foreign staff, the enrolment and payment deadlines, what falls outside relevant income, the documentary duties, the shift to the eMPF Platform, and three distinct criminal thresholds that commentary routinely merges into one.

1. The Legal Framework and Who Does What

•     Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485). The principal statute establishing the mandatory retirement savings system, employer duties and the offences.

•     Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (General) Regulation (Cap. 485A). The subsidiary legislation setting out contribution computation, record-keeping and scheme administration. Financial penalties may be imposed for breaches of both the Ordinance and the Regulation.

•     Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA). The regulator: it registers schemes, approves trustees, inspects employers’ premises, imposes financial penalties and initiates prosecutions.

•     The eMPF Platform. The centralised electronic MPF administration platform. By 2026 it is through the eMPF Platform that an employer enrols employees, pays contributions, submits remittance statements, notifies terminations and updates company details.

The move to the eMPF Platform changed the recipient of almost every employer action. The notice of participation is issued by the eMPF Platform, a change of company address is notified to the eMPF Platform rather than to MPFA, and an employee’s termination is submitted through the eMPF Platform. Failing to notify the platform in writing of a change to the employer’s name, address, telephone number or email is a standalone breach carrying a financial penalty of HK$5,000 to HK$20,000 depending on how many times it has occurred.

2. Choosing the Scheme: the Employer Decides

The final decision on which MPF scheme to use rests with the employer. An employer may also join more than one MPF scheme so that employees can pick the scheme and funds that suit them best.

MPFA encourages employers to consult employees when selecting a scheme and to weigh two factors: the types of funds available under each scheme, and the fees and charges payable under it. The MPF Fund Platform exists to compare the investment objectives, fees, risks and performance of funds across schemes.

Details of every registered MPF scheme and approved trustee sit in MPFA’s public registers. No application to MPFA is needed before enrolling employees in a particular scheme — neither for a Master Trust Scheme nor for an Industry Scheme.

An employer may switch schemes and transfer employees’ MPF to the new one. MPFA encourages advance communication with employees about the proposed arrangements; the instructions are submitted through the eMPF Platform.

3. Who Must Be Enrolled

Apart from exempt persons, an employer must enrol full-time and part-time employees aged 18 to 64 in an MPF scheme within the first 60 days of employment.

The 60-day employment rule does not apply to casual employees in the construction and catering industries. Employers in those two industries enrol such employees in an MPF Industry Scheme or a Master Trust Scheme and contribute for them without the 60-day rule.

Interns fall under the general rule. Where a student has reached 18 and is employed as a regular employee for a continuous period of not less than 60 days, the organisation must enrol the student in an MPF scheme within the first 60 days of employment. For students employed as casual employees in construction or catering, the 60-day rule does not apply.

4. Who Is Exempt

Category	Basis of exemption
Domestic helpers	Employees providing domestic services in the employer’s residence are exempt persons
Family members of a proprietor	Where the employer is a sole proprietor or business partner and the family members employed live at the same address, no enrolment is required. Where they live at a different address, enrolment is required
Employees in Mainland China	Employees employed and working in the Mainland need not be enrolled: the MPF System is intended for the workforce in Hong Kong
Foreign staff on short stays	Permission to remain in Hong Kong for 13 months or less
Members of an overseas retirement scheme	Membership of a retirement scheme outside Hong Kong; that scheme need not be approved, recognised or registered by MPFA
Self-employed hawkers	Hawkers as defined by the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance are exempt themselves but must still enrol their own employees
Those under 18 and aged 65 or over	The enrolment duty covers ages 18 to 64

5. Foreign Staff: the Thirteen-Month Rule

A foreign employee is exempt while the permission to remain in Hong Kong does not exceed 13 months, or while the employee is a member of a retirement scheme outside Hong Kong. A visa extension removes that exemption.

Where the original and extended periods of stay together exceed 13 months, the employee ceases to be exempt from the first day after the end of the 13th month. The employer must enrol the employee in an MPF scheme within 60 days from the end of the 13th month.

The same rule applies to holders of a visa under the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG). Where a renewal brings the total period of stay beyond 13 months, the employer must enrol the employee within 60 days after the end of the 13th month and make contributions — unless the employee is a member of an overseas retirement scheme.

What counts is the cumulative period, not the length of each visa. MPFA’s own example: an employee granted a 9-month visa, then extended by 6 months. Neither period alone exceeds 13 months, but together they total 15, and the exemption ends from the first day after the 13th month. An employer tracking only the current visa discovers the breach retrospectively.

6. Enrolment: the Deadline, Its Extension and the Data Required

The enrolment deadline is the first 60 days of employment, counted from the first day of work. MPFA’s example: a first day of employment of 19 June gives an enrolment deadline of 17 August, the 60th day from the first day of work.

When the deadline moves

If the 60th day falls on a Saturday, a public holiday, a gale or black rainstorm warning day, or a day on which the eMPF Platform is suspended and that suspension affects the performance of the employer’s duty, the deadline is extended to the next day that is none of those.

Suspension of the eMPF Platform sits in the list of grounds for extension alongside the weather warnings. That is a consequence of moving administration onto the platform and a ground that did not exist under the previous arrangement.

What the employee must provide

•     Full name.

•     Hong Kong identity card number.

•     Date of birth.

•     Contact details — address and telephone number.

•     Choice of MPF funds, if any.

•     Tax residency self-certification — a declaration of whether the employee is a tax resident outside Hong Kong.

•     Email address, if available.

Without the tax residency self-certification the account cannot be opened. Where an employee fails to provide the tax residency self-certification, the eMPF Platform cannot complete the account opening procedure. The 60-day clock does not stop for that, so the declaration belongs in the day-one document pack rather than at the end of the window.

7. What to Pay: Rates and Relevant Income Levels

Relevant income levels are not set for monthly pay alone. For weekly-paid employees the weekly maximum relevant income level is HK$7,000 (HK$1,000 × 7 days) and the weekly minimum is HK$1,960 (HK$280 × 7 days).

Monthly relevant income	Employer contribution	Employee contribution
Below HK$7,100	5% of relevant income	None
HK$7,100 to HK$30,000	5% of relevant income	5% of relevant income
Above HK$30,000	HK$1,500	HK$1,500

The employer duty does not fall away on low pay. Where relevant income is below HK$7,100 the employee is relieved of their own contribution, but the employer still pays 5 per cent.

Where income fluctuates between the minimum and maximum levels, the mandatory contributions fluctuate correspondingly. Responsibility for the accuracy of the relevant income and contribution computation rests with the employer.

The discussed increase to the cap is not law. Industry publications through 2025 and 2026 have discussed raising the maximum relevant income level above HK$30,000, which would lift the cap on each side above HK$1,500. MPFA’s own pages continue to state HK$7,100 and HK$30,000 as the levels in force. Budget payroll on the current figures while monitoring MPFA announcements: a confirmed change would bite first on higher-earning staff.

8. What Falls Outside Relevant Income

Three categories of payment are expressly excluded from the contribution base. Getting this wrong produces either overpayment or underpayment with a surcharge.

•     Non-monetary benefits. Airline tickets and similar benefits in kind are not relevant income.

•     Periodical payments under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance. Work injury compensation paid periodically is not regarded as relevant income.

•     Payment in lieu of notice and redundancy payment. These are compensation for termination of employment or statutory payments rather than consideration for services rendered. Neither employer nor employee makes mandatory contributions on them.

9. The Contribution Day

A contribution period generally corresponds to the wage period. For regular monthly-paid employees the employer must make mandatory contributions on or before the 10th day of each month — the contribution day.

The contribution day does not track the pay day. MPFA states it directly: whether the employer pays the employee at, before or after the end of the month is irrelevant. Tying the remittance to the payroll date is a recurring cause of formal default on a fully paid payroll.

If the contribution day falls on a Saturday, a public holiday, or a gale or black rainstorm warning day, it is extended to the next day that is none of those. MPFA’s example: if 10 January is a Saturday, the contribution day moves to Monday 12 January.

Industry Schemes

Employers in the construction and catering industries who have enrolled casual employees in Industry Schemes may choose either of two timings: contributing on the next working day following the relevant pay day, or within 10 days after the end of the relevant contribution period.

Casual employees have no contribution holiday. Where an employer enrols them in a Master Trust Scheme, their contributions are calculated in the same way as for a regular employee, but the contribution holiday does not apply to them.

10. The Contribution Holiday: the Employee Has One, the Employer Does Not

New employees enjoy a contribution holiday: they are not required to make their own contributions for the first 30 days of employment, nor for the first incomplete wage period immediately following that 30-day period.

The contribution holiday does not extend to the employer. MPFA puts it directly: because the contribution holiday does not apply to the employer, the employer’s contributions are calculated from the employee’s first day of employment. The holiday relieves only the employee of their half — the employer’s 5 per cent runs from day one.

MPFA’s worked example

An employee starts on 16 January with a wage period running from the first to the last day of each calendar month. The employee makes no contributions from 16 January to 14 February — the first 30 days of employment — nor from 15 to 28 February, that being the incomplete wage period following the 30-day period. The employee’s contributions start to be calculated on 1 March. The employer must enrol the employee on or before 16 March, the 60th day of employment, and make the first contribution on or before 10 April, the contribution day of the month immediately following the calendar month in which the 60th day falls.

It is the overlap of three periods — 30 days, 60 days and the incomplete wage period — that pushes the first payment for a new hire to roughly the third month of employment, carrying the employer’s contributions for the whole preceding period.

11. The First Contribution for a New Employee

For new employees the employer must make the first contributions to the eMPF Platform on or before the next contribution day after the calendar month in which the 60th day of employment falls.

The 60-day window defers the payment, not the liability. The employer’s contribution liability runs from the employee’s first day of work. The 60-day period buys time for the paperwork, but once it closes the contributions fall due for the whole period, including the first months. A company that has not accrued for them faces a lump sum covering more than two months for each new hire at once.

12. Documentary Duties: Remittance Statements and Pay-Records

The remittance statement

When paying mandatory contributions the employer provides a remittance statement carrying five items for each employee.

•     The employee’s relevant income for the contribution period.

•     The employer’s mandatory contribution.

•     The employee’s mandatory contribution.

•     The employer’s voluntary contribution, if any.

•     The employee’s voluntary contribution, if any.

Pay-records for the employee

The employer must give every employee monthly pay-records within seven working days after the mandatory contributions are made. The record shows the employee’s relevant income, the employer and employee contribution amounts including mandatory and voluntary, and the date the contributions were paid to the trustee.

Failing to provide pay-records is a standalone offence on MPFA’s list. MPFA’s published list of common employer offences carries, as a separate line, the failure to provide employees with monthly pay-records within seven working days of making contributions. The contributions may have been paid in full and on time and the breach still arises.

Posting a cheque on the contribution day does not count as paying on time: the postmark date on the envelope is not treated as the date of payment. The employer must allow sufficient delivery time.

13. What to Do When an Employee Leaves

Within 10 days after the last day of the calendar month in which the employee terminated employment, the employer must notify the eMPF Platform — by submitting the termination through the platform, or by written notice or the remittance statement — stating the date on which the employment ceased.

Employers in the construction and catering industries who have enrolled their casual employees in an Industry Scheme are not required to follow that notification procedure.

14. The Abolition of Offsetting from 1 May 2025: Three Scenarios

The offsetting arrangement allowed an employer to set the MPF derived from its contributions against Long Service Payment and Severance Payment under the Employment Ordinance. From 1 May 2025 — the transition date — that changed.

Employee’s position	What can be offset from employer mandatory contributions	Employer voluntary contributions
Employment ceased before 1 May 2025	Offsetting available in full under the previous rules	Available
Employment commenced on or after 1 May 2025	Not available	Available
Employment commenced before 1 May 2025 and ceased on or after that date	Available only against LSP and SP for years of service before the transition date — irrespective of when the contributions themselves were made; not for years of service from the transition date	Available both for years before and for years from the transition date

The abolition has no retrospective effect. For an employee who commenced before 1 May 2025 and ceased on or after that date, the MPF derived from employer mandatory contributions throughout the whole employment period — including contributions made after the transition date — continues to be available against LSP and SP for years of service before the transition date.

What is offset is not the amount of contributions the employer actually paid but the MPF derived from those contributions, that is the amount accumulated after investment.

Nothing above the statutory entitlement can be offset. Where an employer pays more LSP or SP than the Employment Ordinance requires, the amount offset may not exceed the employee’s statutory entitlement. The excess cannot be covered by MPF.

The government subsidy

Alongside the abolition, the Labour Department runs the Subsidy Scheme for Abolition of MPF Offsetting Arrangement, sharing employers’ LSP and SP costs for employment from 1 May 2025 onwards. Subsidies run for 25 years. Eligible employers must apply within three months after effecting payment of the LSP or SP to the employee concerned.

The three-month application window is the most commonly missed step here. The subsidy is not granted automatically: it requires an application within three months of the actual payment to the employee. A company that computes and pays LSP on dismissal but files late loses the cost-sharing entirely.

15. Penalties: Three Distinct Thresholds

MPF commentary tends to quote a single fine figure. MPFA in fact distinguishes several separate offences with different penalties.

Offence	Penalty
Failure to enrol employees in an MPF scheme	Criminal: maximum fine of HK$350,000 and three years’ imprisonment
Failure to pay mandatory contributions via the eMPF Platform, without having deducted 5% from the employee’s relevant income	Criminal: maximum fine of HK$350,000 and three years’ imprisonment
Failure to pay mandatory contributions via the eMPF Platform, having deducted 5% from the employee’s relevant income	Criminal, aggravated: maximum fine of HK$450,000 and four years’ imprisonment
Providing false or misleading information to trustees, the eMPF Platform or MPFA	Criminal: maximum fine of HK$100,000 and one year’s imprisonment on first conviction; HK$200,000 and two years on each subsequent conviction
Late payment of mandatory contributions via the eMPF Platform	Financial penalty of HK$5,000 or 10% of the amount due, whichever is greater; plus a surcharge of 5% of the default amount, fully vested in the employees’ accounts
Failure to provide employees with monthly pay-records (except casual employees in Industry Schemes)	Financial penalty of HK$10,000 for the first failure, HK$20,000 for the second and HK$50,000 for subsequent failures
Failure to notify the eMPF Platform in writing of an employee’s cessation of employment (except casual employees in Industry Schemes)	Financial penalty of HK$5,000 for the first failure, HK$10,000 for the second and HK$20,000 for subsequent failures
Failure to notify the eMPF Platform in writing of updates to employer information — company name, address, telephone number, email	Financial penalty of HK$5,000 for the first failure, HK$10,000 for the second and HK$20,000 for subsequent failures

The 5 per cent surcharge accrues automatically and is fully vested in the employees’ accounts — it is not government revenue. MPFA advises employers to contact the eMPF Platform themselves to establish the surcharge and settle the default contributions together with it, without waiting for MPFA’s payment notice.

Liability reaches officers and directors personally. MPFA states that enforcement is taken against non-compliant employers including their officers, directors and partners, and that prosecution may be brought against the employer or its responsible director.

MPFA’s enforcement toolkit runs from requiring immediate rectification, through the 5 per cent surcharge and civil claims to recover arrears of contributions and surcharges, to financial penalties and criminal prosecution. Non-compliance is detected both from complaints and from proactive inspections of employers’ premises.

How a payment notice arises

The eMPF Platform is required to report any default contributions to MPFA, and MPFA issues payment notices on the strength of that report. MPFA names four most common reasons for the platform to report a default: no contribution or an insufficient one; late payment, that is payment received after the contribution day even where the amount is correct; incomplete or inaccurate information in the remittance statement, leaving the platform unable to verify the amount; and failure to report an employee’s termination.

An inaccurate remittance statement alone triggers a default report. Even where payment is made on time and in the correct amount, incomplete or inaccurate remittance statement data leaves the platform unable to verify the computation, and the employer lands in the default report. That is an operational risk unconnected to whether the money was there.

When settling a default the employer must submit a separate remittance statement naming the affected employees, the default amounts and the surcharge for each of them. MPFA holds no data on contributions made through the platform, so the surcharge amount and the payment procedure must be confirmed with the eMPF Platform directly.

Fourteen days to object to a surcharge. Where the employer did pay in full and on time for every employee with complete and accurate remittance statements, or no contribution was required for the employees concerned, the surcharge can be challenged. The information and supporting documents must reach the eMPF Platform through the Surcharge Objection Form within 14 days from the date of the payment notice.

16. Common Mistakes

Mistake 1. Tying the remittance to the payroll date

The contribution day is the 10th of the month and does not depend on when wages are actually paid. A company remitting alongside payroll on the 25th is formally late every month. The cost: an automatic 5 per cent surcharge on each late amount plus a financial penalty of HK$5,000 or 10 per cent of the sum, whichever is greater.

Mistake 2. Not accruing contributions for a new hire’s first two months

The 60-day window defers the payment but not the liability: contributions fall due for the whole period from day one. The cost: hiring several people at once produces a single lump sum covering more than two months for each, outside the month’s budget.

Mistake 3. Tracking the current visa instead of the cumulative stay

A foreign employee’s exemption ends once the cumulative permitted stay exceeds 13 months, even where no single visa exceeded it. The cost: the enrolment duty arises within 60 days of the end of the 13th month, and the breach surfaces retrospectively — carrying a fine of up to HK$350,000 and three years’ imprisonment.

Mistake 4. Including payments that fall outside relevant income

Payment in lieu of notice, redundancy payment, periodical Employees’ Compensation Ordinance payments and non-monetary benefits are not relevant income. The cost: overpaid contributions that cannot simply be reclaimed, or, on the reverse error, underpayment with a surcharge and a penalty.

Mistake 5. Not collecting the tax residency self-certification at hire

Without the employee’s tax residency declaration the eMPF Platform cannot complete account opening, while the 60-day clock keeps running. The cost: formal failure to enrol once the deadline passes, even though the employer was ready and willing to contribute.

Mistake 6. Assuming MPF still covers LSP and SP

From 1 May 2025 the MPF derived from employer mandatory contributions cannot be offset against LSP and SP for years of service from that date. The cost: a liability previously absorbed by accumulated MPF now needs its own reserve, and the entitlement to government cost-sharing is lost if no application is filed within three months of payment.

17. Who Needs More Than a Basic Set-Up

A basic set-up is enough

•     Companies with a handful of Hong Kong resident staff. Enrolment within 60 days, a monthly 5 per cent computation within the levels, payment by the 10th and issuing pay-records covers the bulk of the duties.

•     Companies with a stable payroll. Where staff earn above the upper level the contribution is fixed at HK$1,500 and needs no monthly recomputation.

A closer review is warranted

•     Companies employing foreign staff. The cumulative period of stay and overseas scheme membership must be tracked employee by employee.

•     Construction and catering. Casual employees sit outside the 60-day rule, have no contribution holiday, and follow different payment and termination-notification timings.

•     Companies with fluctuating staff income. Where income crosses the HK$7,100 and HK$30,000 levels the contribution changes month to month, and the accuracy of the computation is the employer’s responsibility.

•     Companies planning redundancies. After the abolition of offsetting, computing LSP and SP, identifying the offsettable portion and filing the subsidy application within three months all need handling.

18. Step-by-Step for Employers

1.  Test each new hire: age 18 to 64, no ground of exemption, and the industry of employment.

2.  For foreign staff, record the start of the stay and track the cumulative permitted period against the 13-month threshold.

3.  Choose an MPF scheme; an employer may join more than one so that staff have a choice.

4.  Collect the full employee data pack on day one, including the tax residency self-certification.

5.  Enrol the employee through the eMPF Platform within the first 60 days of employment, allowing for the extension rules.

6.  Accrue contributions from the first day of work rather than waiting for the 60-day window to close.

7.  Set up the monthly computation: 5 per cent of relevant income within the levels, excluding non-monetary benefits, payment in lieu of notice and Employees’ Compensation Ordinance payments.

8.  Pay contributions to the eMPF Platform on or before the contribution day — the 10th of the month — regardless of the payroll date, checking the Contribution Days Calendar.

9.  Produce the five-item remittance statement and submit it with the payment.

10.     Issue pay-records to employees within seven working days of making the contributions.

11.     On termination, notify the eMPF Platform within 10 days after the last day of the calendar month in which employment ceased.

12.     When paying LSP or SP, compute the offsettable portion under the transition-date rules and file the subsidy application within three months of payment.

19. Frequently Asked Questions

How soon must a new employee be enrolled in an MPF scheme?

Within the first 60 days of employment, counted from the first day of work. The rule does not apply to casual employees in the construction and catering industries. If the 60th day falls on a Saturday, a public holiday, a gale or black rainstorm warning day, or a day on which the eMPF Platform is suspended, the deadline is extended.

What are the MPF contribution rates?

5 per cent of relevant income from the employer and 5 per cent from the employee. For monthly-paid employees the minimum and maximum relevant income levels are HK$7,100 and HK$30,000: below HK$7,100 the employee pays nothing while the employer pays 5 per cent; above HK$30,000 each side is capped at HK$1,500.

When must contributions be remitted?

For regular monthly-paid employees, on or before the 10th day of each month. The contribution day does not depend on the payroll date. If it falls on a Saturday, a public holiday or a gale or black rainstorm warning day, it moves to the next qualifying day.

Must a foreign employee on a work visa be enrolled?

Not where the employee is a member of a retirement scheme outside Hong Kong or is permitted to remain in Hong Kong for 13 months or less. Once the cumulative period of stay exceeds 13 months the exemption ends, and the employer must enrol the employee within 60 days from the end of the 13th month.

What penalties apply for MPF breaches?

Failure to enrol and failure to pay contributions each carry a maximum fine of HK$350,000 and three years’ imprisonment. Deducting a contribution from wages and failing to remit it carries HK$450,000 and four years. Late payment attracts a 5 per cent surcharge plus a financial penalty of HK$5,000 or 10 per cent of the default, whichever is greater.

Can MPF still be offset against termination payments?

Only in part. From 1 May 2025 the MPF derived from employer mandatory contributions cannot be offset against LSP and SP for years of service from that date. Offsetting remains available for years of service before the transition date, and MPF derived from employer voluntary contributions can still be offset regardless of period.

Is payment in lieu of notice part of relevant income?

No. Payment in lieu of notice and redundancy payment are compensation for termination of employment or statutory payments rather than consideration for services rendered, and neither employer nor employee contributes on them.

20. Key Takeaways

•     Employees aged 18 to 64 are enrolled within the first 60 days of employment; the rule does not apply to casual employees in construction and catering.

•     The rate is 5 per cent from each side; the monthly relevant income levels are HK$7,100 and HK$30,000, with a HK$1,500 contribution cap.

•     Below the lower level the employee pays nothing and the employer still pays.

•     The contribution day is the 10th of the month and does not track the payroll date.

•     First contributions for a new employee fall due on or before the next contribution day after the month containing the 60th day — covering the whole period from day one.

•     Pay-records go to employees within seven working days of contributions being made; failing to provide them is a standalone offence.

•     Termination is notified to the eMPF Platform within 10 days after the last day of the calendar month concerned.

•     Outside relevant income: non-monetary benefits, periodical Employees’ Compensation Ordinance payments, payment in lieu of notice and redundancy payment.

•     The foreign exemption ends once the cumulative stay exceeds 13 months; enrolment follows within 60 days of the end of the 13th month.

•     Offsetting was abolished on 1 May 2025 for employer mandatory contributions in respect of service from that date; voluntary contributions can still be offset.

•     The Labour Department subsidy application is filed within three months of paying LSP or SP.

•     Penalties: HK$350,000 and three years for failure to enrol and for failure to pay without deducting; HK$450,000 and four years where 5 per cent was deducted from wages; HK$100,000 and one year for false information on first conviction; a 5 per cent surcharge and a financial penalty on late payment.

21. Summary 

An employer in Hong Kong must enrol full-time and part-time employees aged 18 to 64 in a Mandatory Provident Fund scheme within the first 60 days of employment, apart from exempt persons; the 60-day rule does not apply to casual employees in the construction and catering industries. The system is established by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485) and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (General) Regulation (Cap. 485A), the regulator is the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, and by 2026 administration runs through the eMPF Platform. Mandatory contributions are 5 per cent of relevant income from the employer and 5 per cent from the employee; for monthly-paid employees the minimum and maximum relevant income levels are HK$7,100 and HK$30,000, so below the lower level the employee is relieved of their own contribution while above the upper level each side is capped at HK$1,500. The contribution day for regular monthly-paid employees is the 10th of each month and does not depend on the payroll date; where it falls on a Saturday, a public holiday or a gale or black rainstorm warning day it moves to the next qualifying day. First contributions for a new employee are due on or before the next contribution day after the calendar month containing the 60th day of employment and cover the whole period from the first day of work. Relevant income excludes non-monetary benefits, periodical payments under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, payment in lieu of notice and redundancy payment. The employer must give employees monthly pay-records within seven working days of making contributions and notify the eMPF Platform of a termination within 10 days after the last day of the relevant calendar month. A foreign employee is exempt while a member of an overseas retirement scheme or permitted to remain for 13 months or less; once the cumulative stay exceeds 13 months the employer enrols within 60 days from the end of the 13th month. Offsetting was abolished on 1 May 2025: MPF derived from employer mandatory contributions cannot be offset against Long Service Payment and Severance Payment for years of service from that date, the abolition is not retrospective, and MPF derived from employer voluntary contributions can still be offset; the Labour Department provides subsidies over 25 years on an application filed within three months of payment. Penalties: failure to enrol and failure to pay contributions each carry a maximum fine of HK$350,000 and three years’ imprisonment; deducting a contribution from wages without remitting it carries HK$450,000 and four years; late payment attracts a surcharge of 5 per cent of the default contributions, fully vested in employees’ accounts, plus a financial penalty of HK$5,000 or 10 per cent of the default, whichever is greater; failure to provide monthly pay-records carries HK$10,000, HK$20,000 and HK$50,000 for the first, second and subsequent failures; failure to notify the eMPF Platform of a termination or of a change in employer information carries HK$5,000, HK$10,000 and HK$20,000; and providing false or misleading information carries HK$100,000 and one year on first conviction and HK$200,000 and two years on each subsequent one.

22. Sources

Tier 1 — the regulator

•     MPFA — Employer FAQ: coverage, enrolment, contributions and offsetting (revised 15 June 2026)

•     MPFA — Enrolment for Employees: the 60-day deadline, its extension and the enrolment offence

•     MPFA — Mandatory Contributions for Employees: minimum and maximum relevant income levels

•     MPFA — Common Offences and Penalties for employers

•     MPFA — Enforcement Measures and Penalties

•     MPFA — Arrangements for Offsetting Long Service Payment and Severance Payment

•     MPFA — Contribution Days Calendar

•     MPFA — eMPF Platform

•     Hong Kong Labour Department — TransitionEase Portal: subsidy on the abolition of offsetting

•     Hong Kong Labour Department — thematic page on the abolition of the MPF offsetting arrangement

Related UPPERSETUP analysis

•     Hong Kong Company Registration 2026: Requirements, Procedure, Taxes and Annual Compliance

•     Mandatory Annual Compliance for Hong Kong Companies 2026: Annual Return (NAR1), Audit and Profits Tax Return (BIR51)

•     Company Re-domiciliation to Hong Kong in 2026: The Complete Part 17A Breakdown

Hiring staff in Hong Kong? UPPERSETUP supports employers across Hong Kong, the UAE and Kazakhstan: testing each employee against the exemptions, tracking the thirteen-month rule for foreign staff, setting up the contribution computation and deadlines, enrolling through the eMPF Platform, and modelling the effect of the offsetting abolition on redundancies. Discuss your project with UPPERSETUP

Disclaimer

This material is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, investment or consulting advice. Before making any decision, obtain individual professional advice reflecting your specific circumstances, jurisdiction, company status and current regulatory requirements. Information is current as of August 2026.