Easy Steps for Fund Transfer: Learn More about Employee Choice Arrangement (ECA)

The MPF is one of the main sources of retirement income for Hong Kong’s working population, with an investment journey spanning decades and accompanying people through various life stages. You should regularly review your MPF investment portfolio to align with your personal investment goals, asset allocation, and risk tolerance.

MPF transfers involve switching investment portfolios within the same scheme, or transferring MPF to another scheme. This article, we will focus on the Employee Choice Arrangement (ECA).

The ECA is designed to increase employees' flexibility in managing their MPF and promote market competition. Employees can transfer the full amount of their employee mandatory contributions (including accumulated contributions and investment returns) from their contribution account to an MPF scheme of their choice (new scheme) once a year (between January 1 and December 31). It's worth noting that the employer's mandatory contributions must remain in the original scheme chosen by the employer until the employee leaves the job. Additionally, even if you exercise your transfer rights under the ECA, the employer must continue to deposit subsequent new contributions (including both employer and employee portions) into the original scheme, rather than the new scheme you have selected.

The transfer process for the Employee Choice Arrangement is as follows:

Check your MPF account information: Check your MPF account details, including scheme name and account number. Common methods for retrieving MPF account information are as follows:

Review account documents issued by the MPF trustee, such as annual benefit statements
Directly inquire about account status with the MPF trustee

Choose a new trustee and scheme: Research available MPF schemes in the market, including their investment options, management fees, etc., and select the scheme that best meets your needs.
Fill out the application form: After choosing your preferred MPF trustee and scheme, submit the "Employee Choice Arrangement - Transfer Election Form" [FORM MPF(S)-P(P)]to the new trustee for processing. You will receive a "Transfer Statement" from the original trustee and a "Transfer Confirmation" from the new trustee when the MPF consolidation is completed.

My MPF Tips:

As MPF trustees and their schemes join the eMPF platform in sequence, all administrative work will be handled uniformly by the platform, eliminating the need to submit service instructions to respective MPF trustees.
The MPFA is studying the implementation of full launch of the MPF Employee Choice Arrangement, which may allow employees to transfer the accrued benefits of employer mandatory contributions to a scheme of their choice.
If the MPF transfer involves selling guaranteed funds, it may affect the guaranteed rate of return. You should carefully read the relevant terms beforehand.

According to MPFA data as of February 28, 2025, there are 380 MPF constituent funds in the market. Before making a transfer, you should carefully compare the management fees, personal investment objectives, risk levels, and fund performance of various funds to ensure the selected funds align with the financial goals. Besides, you should be aware of potential administrative fees and processing times involved in the transfer process and consult relevant professionals for more precise advice.

Further Reading: Key Considerations for MPF Portfolio Selection

Published date: 2025-06-20

Updated date: 2025-06-20

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