Hong Kong's pension fund regulator said it will introduce a new arrangement to strengthen the verification requirements for withdrawal applications at the end of this month to improve protection.
Under the new arrangement, except for withdrawal applications on the grounds of small balance (HK$5,000 or below) and death, all scheme members submitting Mandatory Provident Fund withdrawal applications via the eMPF platform, including withdrawal after reaching the age of 65, must undergo step-up authentication through “iAM Smart” and complete real-time facial identification to ensure the authenticity and accuracy of the applicant’s identity, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority chair Ayesha Macpherson Lau said.
Those who had previously completed identity authentication through “iAM Smart” when registering with eMPF will still need to undergo step-up authentication when submitting withdrawal applications via eMPF, Lau wrote in her blog on Sunday.
Following successful authentication, they will also be required to submit relevant supporting documents through eMPF, she said, adding that MPF trustees will then pay out MPF to the applicants upon completion of vetting the supporting documents.
MPFA
She mentioned that there had been isolated cases of abuse related to early withdrawal of MPF.
These abuses include submitting applications for early withdrawal of MPF by making false declarations or other unlawful means.
There were also cases in which lawbreakers induced scheme members to make unlawful applications for early withdrawal of MPF or illegally withdraw the MPF benefits of scheme members reaching the age of 65 using high-quality counterfeit identity cards, Lau added.
