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Luo Zhiguang advocates for the next government to study mandatory MPF transfer annuity. The labor sector rebounds: wage earners choose themselves

2021-10-01T06:48:02.898Z


As the population of Hong Kong ages, how to protect the lives of large numbers of retirees has become an important issue. The Secretary of Labor and Welfare Luo Zhiguang said in an interview with the media that after the next government abolishes the MPF hedging, it needs to study and strengthen the public


As the population of Hong Kong ages, how to protect the lives of large numbers of retirees has become an important issue.

When the Secretary of Labor and Welfare Luo Zhiguang was interviewed by the media, he pointed out that after the next government cancels the hedging of the MPF, it is necessary to study and strengthen the cooperation between the public annuity and the MPF, including the automatic or even mandatory conversion of the MPF to an annuity.

He explained that as the number of retirees increases, if they do not evolve their property into a stable income, they will be unwilling to consume after retirement, and the overall social economy will shrink as a result.


According to Luo Zhiguang’s introduction of his public annuity plan in the consultation document of the Poverty Alleviation Committee before he took office in 2015, the plan can be operated by the government or a statutory organization. At the initial stage of implementation, such as the first three years of voluntary participation by the elderly, it may be considered whether to compulsory accumulation of mandatory accumulation after three years. Retirees who have spent more than 15 years participating.

Lin Zhensheng, a non-executive director of the MPFA and chairman of the AFL, believes that everyone’s retirement plan is different, and the compulsory MPF transfer to an annuity society must be controversial: "Don’t oppose (annuity) as an option. If it is compulsory, there will be problems."


Director of the Bureau of Labor and Welfare Luo Zhiguang.

(Profile picture)

Figures show that as of the end of August this year, the total premiums of Hong Kong annuity plans were about 8.9 billion, which was lower than the 10 billion issuance limit when it was launched three years ago, indicating that Hong Kong people's desire to participate in public annuities has not yet been popularized.

Luo Zhiguang mentioned in his interview that the public annuity system has been launched for three years, and the feasibility of strengthening the coordination between MPF ​​and annuities should be explored, including studying whether to force retired employees to convert MPF into annuity; or automatically convert MPF into annuity , Retirees only withdraw their MPF when they are unwilling to purchase annuities; or maintain the status quo and use different methods to encourage more people to purchase annuities.

Luo Zhiguang worries that the retirement pension has not changed. Retirees with stable income "do not dare to launder money"

Luo explained that if more than 30% of the society’s population are retirees in the future, but they have not turned their pensions into stable incomes (i.e. annuities) and only have a pension of several million yuan, it may cause many people to "dare not to launder money" and are unwilling. The consumption phenomenon will bring great downward pressure on the economy.

The next government discusses abolishing the MPF hedging amendments

However, he bluntly said that the pension work has nothing to do with the current Labour and Welfare Bureau. The Labour and Welfare Bureau expects that the amendments to the MPF hedging that will be submitted to the Legislative Council next year will not leave the foreshadowing of the link between the MPF and the annuity, because the current government Can't rush to discuss it, but the next government should study the relevant surrender system.

In fact, Luo Zhiguang also proposed a similar concept in the Poverty Alleviation Commission’s "Consultation Document on the Joint Construction of Retirement Protection Frontiers" before taking up the post of Director of the Bureau of Labor and Welfare in December 2015.

There was no public annuity in Hong Kong that year, so he proposed the concept of a public annuity plan. It is recommended that participants first pay a sum of money, such as MPF rights or personal savings, and convert it into monthly payments based on average life span and a predetermined interest rate. Participant's specific money.

In 2015, it was proposed that retirees who have contributed to the MPF for more than 15 years should study whether they should be compulsory to convert to annuities.

He pointed out at the time that since such products were not widely available in the private market, the proposed scheme could be operated by the government or statutory organizations.

In the initial stage of the scheme (for example, the first three years), elders will participate voluntarily, and in the future (for example, after three years), it is possible to consider whether retirees who have accumulated MPF for more than 15 years will be required to participate.

Participants of eligible annuity plans can still receive Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, Old Age Living Allowance or Old Age Allowance, but the monthly annuity will be regarded as income calculation. Participants of the Basic Plan and the Additional Estate Plan

At that time, the Poverty Alleviation Committee believed that the concept of annuity was worthy of further exploration, but it had to study in detail the prerequisites for the implementation of the plan, including the role of the government, the public financial commitment involved, whether to enforce annuity, and whether to provide guaranteed returns, etc.

Lin Zhensheng, a non-executive director of the MPFA board of directors and chairman of the AFL, believes that the mandatory approach is not ideal.

(Photo/Photo by Yang Jialang)

Lin Zhensheng of Liao Lian: Retirement plan for everyone is different and compulsory must be controversial

Lin Zhensheng, non-executive director of the MPFA and chairman of the AFL, believes that under the current compulsory pension scheme, employees can choose to withdraw their rights in one lump sum or in installments after they reach the age of 65. Each person's retirement plan is different, and the compulsory annuity transfer is bound to be controversial in the society: "Don't oppose (annuity) as an option. If it is compulsory, there will be problems." He added that some grassroots workers have a small amount of MPF accounts. If they are transferred to the last year's pension, another amount of money will be reduced in disguise.

Lin said that for retirement protection, there are different investment plans in the market. He believes that the government should provide more comprehensive information than compulsory annuities, so that citizens can prepare as soon as they need.

Luo Zhiguang pointed out that the Hong Kong government has not set a poverty line higher than the poverty line to support the graduating annuity and MPF in line with the immigration wave. In the second quarter, 8,000 cases of MPF withdrawal on the grounds of permanent departure from Hong Kong rose 4% quarterly. The Legislative Council passed the establishment of unemployment The non-binding motion on aid payments Pan Zhaoping advocates the cancellation of MPF hedging with MPF as a guarantee│Luo Zhiguang: Aim to submit the draft as soon as possible when the next Legislative Council begins

01News

Source: hk1

All news articles on 2021-10-01

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