The Mandatory Provident Fund is Hong Kong's compulsory retirement savings scheme, and its arithmetic is refreshingly blunt: 5% from the employee, 5% from the employer, on relevant income between a floor and a ceiling. The floor and ceiling are the whole story. Below the floor nobody contributes; above the ceiling the contribution is capped, so a high earner's MPF is a smaller share of pay than a middle earner's.
The formula
Monthly contribution = 5% × relevant income, where relevant income is clamped to the range HK$7,100 to HK$30,000. The employee and employer each pay that amount, so the total credited to the account is 10% of relevant income. At the ceiling the employee contributes HK$1,500 and the employer contributes HK$1,500, for HK$3,000 a month.
A worked example
A worker earning HK$20,000 a month is inside the band, so the employee contributes HK$1,000 and the employer HK$1,000, giving HK$2,000 a month into the fund. A worker earning HK$45,000 is above the ceiling, so relevant income is treated as HK$30,000 and the contribution is still HK$3,000 a month — the same as someone on HK$30,000. A part-time worker earning HK$5,000 is below the floor and contributes nothing, though the employer still has obligations under the scheme's rules for low-income employees.
What the balance becomes
Over a full career the fund compounds. Assuming a 4% annual return and continuous contributions at the ceiling, the balance after thirty years is roughly HK$2.1 million, which is why the scheme is a meaningful but not sufficient retirement pot on its own. The calculator projects the balance from the contribution rate, the years of service, and an assumed return.
Notes and caveats
Rule year 2024. The minimum and maximum relevant income levels are HK$7,100 and HK$30,000 per month. Voluntary contributions, the special rules for self-employed persons, and the tax deduction for voluntary contributions are not modelled. MPF is normally locked until age 65, with early withdrawal only on permanent departure, terminal illness, total incapacity, or death. Source: Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority.