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MPF intermediaries
MPFMPF Intermediaries ExaminationIIQE MPF · Topic 3
MPF exam chapter 3, the heaviest chapter at 43% of the paper: contribution rates and the $7,100 / $30,000 relevant income levels, vesting, preservation, the withdrawal grounds, coverage and exempt persons, TVC and tax, ECA, the abolition of offsetting from 1 May 2025 and employer penalties.
16 min read10 sections
Checked against the MPF Study Notes, Tenth Edition (June 2026; for exams from 1 Oct 2026), chapter 3 and Appendices II to IV, and the MPFA pages on mandatory contributions for employees and self-employed persons (last reviewed 30 Apr 2026), MPF coverage (20 Jul 2026), early withdrawal (16 Oct 2026), TVC and long service and severance payments (15 Jun 2026) and enforcement penalties (15 Jun 2026). Reviewed 6 Nov 2026.. Independent prep, not endorsed by the MPFA or any examination provider.
Chapter 3 carries 43% of the MPF exam, and contribution arithmetic is the single most tested area inside it. Learn the three income bands and the two people who pay, and most calculation items become one line of working.
| Monthly relevant income | Employer pays | Employee pays |
|---|---|---|
| Less than $7,100 | 5% of relevant income | Nothing |
| $7,100 to $30,000 | 5% of relevant income | 5% of relevant income |
| More than $30,000 | $1,500 (the cap) | $1,500 (the cap) |
Three quick applications. On $6,000 a month the employer pays $300 and the employee nothing. On $18,400 each side pays $920. On $52,000 each side pays the $1,500 cap, not $2,600.
For pay periods other than a month the limits are set per day: a minimum of $280 and a maximum of $1,000 for each day in the wage period. A weekly-paid employee therefore has a $1,960 minimum and a $7,000 maximum.
Relevant income is every money payment from the employer: wages, salary, leave pay, fees, commissions, bonuses, gratuities, perquisites and allowances. Severance payments and long service payments under the Employment Ordinance are left out.
Self-employed persons pay 5% of their own relevant income. The levels are $85,200 a year (or $7,100 a month) and $360,000 a year (or $30,000 a month), so the cap is $18,000 a year or $1,500 a month. They choose to contribute monthly or yearly. A self-employed person must enrol whatever their income, even if they earn too little to contribute.
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Employer and employee each contribute 5% of the employee's relevant income. Below $7,100 a month the employee pays nothing but the employer still pays 5%. Above $30,000 a month each side's contribution is capped at $1,500 (MPFA, last reviewed 30 Apr 2026).
$7,100 a month minimum (since 1 Nov 2013) and $30,000 a month maximum (since 1 Jun 2014). For daily-paid employees the levels are $280 and $1,000 a day. For self-employed persons they are $85,200 and $360,000 a year.
For monthly-paid employees, the 10th day of the following month: for example, contributions for September wages are due by 10 October. If that day is a Saturday, a public holiday or a gale or black rainstorm warning day, it moves to the next day that is none of these.
Before 65 only on a statutory ground: early retirement at 60 or over, permanent departure from Hong Kong (once in a lifetime), total incapacity, terminal illness (life expectancy 12 months or less), a small balance of $5,000 or less in one scheme with 12 months since the last contribution day, or death (MPFA, last reviewed 16 Oct 2026).
$60,000 per year of assessment (the MPFA gives this figure for 2026/27), shared with qualifying deferred annuity premiums. TVC is preserved until 65 like mandatory contributions (MPFA TVC page, last reviewed 15 Jun 2026).
From the transition date, 1 May 2025. Employers can no longer use benefits from their mandatory contributions to offset severance or long service payments for service from that date. They can still offset the pre-transition portion, and can use their voluntary contributions for any period.
Timing. For a monthly-paid employee the contribution day is the 10th day of the following month: July's contributions are due by 10 August. The employee has a contribution holiday for the first 30 days of employment and the incomplete wage period that follows. The employer has no holiday and contributes from the first day. The first contribution falls due on the contribution day after the month in which the 60th day of employment falls.
Trap: the $7,100 minimum is inclusive. An employee earning exactly $7,100 contributes $355. Only income below $7,100 frees the employee, and never the employer.
Takeaway: 5% + 5%, $7,100 to $30,000, $1,500 cap each, due on the 10th. The employer always pays; the employee gets the low-income exemption and the 30-day holiday.
Vesting. Once paid to the trustee, both sides' mandatory contributions, and the investment returns on them, vest fully and immediately in the member. An employer cannot claw them back, even if the employee leaves after a few months. Voluntary contributions paid by the member, and TVC, also vest on payment. Voluntary contributions paid by the employer vest according to the scheme's governing rules.
Preservation. Benefits from mandatory contributions and from TVC are locked in until the member reaches 65. Ordinary voluntary contributions are not bound by this rule: the scheme's governing rules decide when they can be paid out.
Before 65, money can come out only on one of the statutory grounds:
| Ground | Conditions | How paid |
|---|---|---|
| Age 65 | Reaching 65 | Lump sum or instalments, or leave it invested |
| Early retirement | At least 60, has ceased all employment and self-employment, and declares no intention to work again | Lump sum or instalments |
| Permanent departure from Hong Kong | Statutory declaration of leaving to live elsewhere, plus proof of the right to live permanently outside Hong Kong. Usable once in a lifetime | Lump sum |
| Total incapacity | Medical certificate (registered medical or Chinese medicine practitioner) that the member is permanently unfit for the kind of work done in the last job | Lump sum |
| Terminal illness | Medical certificate that life expectancy is likely to be 12 months or less; claim within 12 months of the certificate. The member may still be working | Lump sum |
| Small balance | No more than $5,000, held in one MPF scheme only, at least 12 months since the last contribution day, and a declaration of no intention to work again | Lump sum |
| Death | Claimed by the personal representative or the Official Administrator as part of the estate | Lump sum |
Only the age-65 and early-retirement grounds allow instalments. For a lump sum, and for the first four instalment withdrawals in a year, the trustee may charge nothing beyond necessary transaction costs paid to third parties. Claims go through the eMPF Platform, and the trustee generally pays within 30 days of receiving all documents.
Trap: permanent departure is a once-in-a-lifetime ground. A member who withdrew on that ground, came back and built up new benefits cannot use it a second time.
Takeaway: mandatory money and TVC vest at once and stay until 65. Early exits: 60 and retired, leaving for good (once), incapacity, terminal illness, $5,000 or less, or death.