How Do I Withdraw My MPF Before Leaving Hong Kong?
If you will be leaving Hong Kong permanently, you can withdraw your MPF before reaching the retirement age of 65. Find out how.
If you wish to move out of Hong Kong for career or business opportunities elsewhere, what happens with all the money in your MPF? How should you withdraw MPF when leaving Hong Kong? For your MPF Hong Kong withdrawal, you need to undergo the Hong Kong MPF withdrawal process to get your money in a hassle-free way.
By the way, if you need any help with company secretarial tasks in Hong Kong as you wind up your company, we’re here to help.
What Is the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF)?
Deep dive into the legal obligations around MPF.
As an employer, you might need to know how to open an account and make MPF contributions for your employees.
According to Hong Kong regulations, employers set aside a portion of their employees’ salaries and send it to the Mandatory Provident Fund. This is so that employers can use the MPF pension money after retiring. Once they reach the age of 65 years, employees can withdraw from MPF. However, before that age, people who want to relocate out of Hong Kong do not need to leave their Hong Kong MPF behind. They can withdraw the money before moving out.
Can I Withdraw My MPF?
Yes, you can withdraw the MPF as a lump sum amount or by installments.
There are some conditions. Usually, people are eligible to apply for HK MPF withdrawal when they reach the retirement age of 65. Sometimes, MPF early withdrawal is possible before reaching the retirement age.
Here are the conditions to meet before you withdraw your MPF:
- When you reach the retirement age of 65 years. The earliest retirement age would be 60 years old.
- When you want to permanently move out of the region (declaring taxes) and get an MPF refund when leaving Hong Kong.
- If you are incapacitated or become permanently unfit to perform your duties.
- In such cases, applicants need to fill out the form MPF(s) – w(o). Applications can submit a certificate of their permanent unfitness for a specific type of work by filling the form MPF(s) – w(sd2).
- If you have a small amount of MPF in your account no more than HK$5,000, you can clearly state not having any intention to continue working and withdraw all the money.
- Death
Early Withdrawal
Early withdrawal of MPF is possible if an individual meets the following conditions:
- Reached a minimum age of 60 years and wants to retire early.
- Relocated or is going to move out of Hong Kong.
- Incapacitated or permanently unfit to work.
- Diagnosed with a terminal illness.
- Small MPF balance that is not more than S$5,000 and has no accrued MPF benefits. As on the application date, a minimum of 12 months has passed since the last MPF contribution date.
- The applicant has passed away, and a personal representative is claiming the accrued benefits.
When Can I Get My MPF Back?
As an employee, the money deducted from your salaries by your employers for MPF contribution is available as accrued benefits when you retire. The retirement age in In Hong Kong is 65 years. However, it is also possible to take early retirement at the age of 60 years.
Individuals can also get MPF leaving Hong Kong after filling and submitting the MPF withdrawal form.
How Do I Withdraw My MPF From HSBC?
The regulation on MPF states that employees can withdraw their accrued benefits from MPF contributions when they meet the conditions listed earlier in this post.
When it comes to applying for MPF withdrawal from HSBC, it offers partial withdrawals. Simply put, individuals can partially withdraw their accrued benefits of at least HK$5,000 per withdrawal before retirement.
Applicants can get the withdrawal free of charge, up to 12 times during the financial period of a scheme from July 1 to June 30 next year.
Any additional Flexi-contributions and voluntary contributions can help individuals plan their retirement and not for using those sources of funds to meet their short-term financial needs.
HSBC encourages applicants to consider these funds for their retirement days before withdrawing them.
MPF Withdrawal Process Before 65
It is possible to withdraw your contributions to the MPF Provident before reaching the retirement age of 65 years. You can do so if you are about to move out of Hong Kong permanently.
However, you’ll have to follow these 3 steps:
Prove That You Are Leaving on a Long-term Basis, Without No Intention To Return For Employment or Residency
If you are relocating to a different country and leaving Hong Kong permanently, you can declare yourself as a foreigner. Subsequently, you can withdraw your MPF funds in 1 to 2 months before your departure date.
You need to submit a documented proof that you were living in a place outside Hong Kong before making the withdrawal request.
We suggest you get the following documents:
| For Foreigners | For Hong Kong Locals |
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Note
You may be required to make a declaration or oath in the Home Affairs Department regarding your departure.
Elizabeth has decided to wind up her events management company in Hong Kong and venture into the United Kingdom market instead. Having worked in Hong Kong for 5 years now, she has built up a significant amount of funds in her Mandatory Provident Fund. She then applied for a place of residence in the United Kingdom and filed the necessary documents with the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority. She was able to prove that she was permitted to reside in a place outside Hong Kong, her application was approved and she was able to withdraw her Mandatory Provident Fund.
Notify the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority
You need to use the following documents to notify the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA):
- Identity proof
- Mandatory declaration Form MPF(S) – W(SD2)
- Request for MPF withdrawal on the grounds of leaving Hong Kong permanently using the Form MPF(S) – W(O)
- Documented evidence that you had permission to stay in a place outside Hong Kong.
Submit tax returns
If you are working in a company, request the file IR56G from your employer (Check for a specimen here) and get details from them regarding the requirement for MPF withdrawal tax clearance.
After submitting the IR56G form, your employer will withhold your payments for a month from the submission date or until the MPFA issues the Letter of Release.
You will receive an Individual Tax Return for tax clearance. After submitting your tax returns, the MPFA will issue a return to you after receiving your application.
If you need to speed up the process
If you want to move out of Hong Kong as fast as possible, contact the MPFA directly over the telephone. They will probably ask you to visit the office of the Inland Revenue Department in person with your Form IR56G file, supporting documents, and payslips for all the tax deductions to the IRD. They might also ask for proof of tax filing for tax clearance.
Conclusion
This guide can help you through each step of your MPF withdrawal process. As you may have already realised that the whole process is not that complicated.
It is, however, critical that you comply with all the regulations. Be careful and do not skip any of the rules laid out by the Hong Kong government, and you will receive all of your accrued MPF funds in due course.
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