Even with shifting global trends and new business hubs emerging across Asia, Hong Kong remains a key gateway for companies looking to build teams that can connect the region and the world. Its well-educated, bilingual talent pool and reputation as a trusted finance and trading hub make it an attractive base for employers who want a skilled workforce ready for cross-border business.
But hiring in Hong Kong also means taking local compliance seriously, which starts with understanding the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF).
The MPF in Hong Kong is a mandatory retirement savings scheme designed to protect employees’ long-term financial security. For employers, failure to comply can lead to costs beyond financial penalties.
In this guide, we’ll break down how the Hong Kong MPF contributions and funds work, different rates and contributors, how it affects payroll, common compliance risks, and how you can keep your operations worry-free by partnering with an Employer of Record (EOR) like Slasify.
Introduced in 2000 to help Hong Kong’s working population save for retirement, the MPF funds are a compulsory savings plan that requires both employers and employees to contribute every month.
Who must contribute:
Who’s exempt:
When calculating MPF contributions, employers must apply the correct rates and observe statutory wage limits. As of 2025, the standard Hong Kong MPF employer contributions and employee contributions are both 5% of relevant income, up to the wage ceiling.
Reference: official rates from MPFA
If an employee earns HKD 20,000 per month:
In some cases, employers might offer additional voluntary contributions for employees for the purpose of attracting talents. The maximum voluntary contributions are set at 15% of an employee’s yearly salary and are tax deductible. (Related article: Employer Contribution in Hong Kong)
The Hong Kong MPF funds affect both employees and employers in different ways. For employees, there’s going to be a 5% deduction from their net salary per month, which goes towards their retirement funds for future use. For employers, the 5% MPF contributions add to employees’ gross salary and must be properly calculated, deducted, and reported by the 10th of each month.
Doing the MPF contribution calculations manually for every hire is going to be quite time-consuming and prone to errors. That’s why more employers rely on a reliable payroll solution that can handle the calculation, deduction, and even remittance automatically to avoid late fees or compliance gaps.
Having a reliable payroll solution is crucial for staying compliant, keeping costs manageable, and even helping to build a trusted relationship with your employees. For starters, it centralizes everything together, including salary, tax, MPF, leave tracking in one place when questions come up. When your records are accurate and your deadlines are met, you protect your team and your company from unnecessary stress. And whether you are growing locally or expanding to new markets, having a platform that’s easy-to-use, centralized, and scales easily can make life much easier for your HR teams.
In recent years, the Hong Kong Labour Department has issued hundreds of thousands of default notices, and employers who persistently fail to comply can face serious consequences.
For each missed payment, a 5% surcharge applies, plus a fine of up to HKD 5,000 or 10% of the shortfall, whichever is higher. Fines can rise to HKD 20,000 for repeated breaches, and employers who fail to enroll or pay may face penalties up to HKD 450,000 and even up to four years of imprisonment.
Employers must keep accurate MPF records, including employee salary details, contribution amounts, and any related reports or correspondence. These documents must be easy to retrieve for checks by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) or auditors when needed.
One common pitfall is misclassifying someone as a contractor when they meet the conditions of an employee under Hong Kong law. If this happens, the employer could face back payments and penalties for unpaid MPF contributions. This risk happens often for overseas employers new to Hong Kong’s labor rules. That’s why having a clear solution in place and a trusted partner helps ensure everything is done correctly.
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An Employer of Record (EOR) is a global partner that becomes the legal local employer on paper, so you don’t have to open a local entity just to hire and pay staff compliantly. In Hong Kong, an EOR steps in to handle all the regulations and rules you would normally need to manage on your own, ranging from contracts and payroll to MPF contributions and tax filings.
With an Employer of Record (EOR) like Slasify, every process is handled for you, including:
For many employers, this is more cost-effective and faster than setting up a local entity, especially when you’re testing a new market or building a small team first.
A global tech company wanted to test the Hong Kong market with just a few local hires. But setting up a full branch felt too heavy at this early stage. They needed a way to stay compliant from day one and reassure new hires they were serious about growing here.
Even with just one or two people, local rules require proper MPF enrollment, accurate contribution calculations, monthly payments, and up-to-date records. For a foreign company with no local HR, this level of detail can quickly become a real challenge.
Slasify’s Employer of Record (EOR) and global payroll solutions can handle onboarding, contracts, MPF enrollment, monthly payroll, contribution filing, and compliance all on one integrated platform.
As a result, the client was able to find the right local talent fast, stayed compliant with payroll and MPF regulations, avoided the cost of setting up an office, and still showed new hires that they were a trusted and reliable company to stay for the long term.
We’ve covered the obligations, risks and solutions surrounding MPF in Hong Kong for you as an employer. We also have a list of actions that you can take right away to stay compliant and avoid surprises in the future:
Staying ahead of these tasks means fewer errors, no missed deadlines, and peace of mind that your team is protected. Speak to our experts at Slasify today to explore how we can support your payroll and MPF compliance in Hong Kong.
Taking care of MPF contributions the right way means you’re taking care of your people too. A well-managed MPF keeps your team’s future secure and your company on the right side of local regulations without last-minute scrambles, surprise fines, and added burden for your HR team.
If handling all the details alone feels like too much, you don’t have to do it alone. With a trusted Employer of Record (EOR) and payroll partner like Slasify by your side, you can stay compliant in Hong Kong without losing focus on what matters most: growing your team and your business with confidence.
Founded in 2016 in Taiwan and now headquartered in Singapore, Slasify began with a vision. We saw the rapid expansion of businesses outpacing traditional work models. Inspired by the rise of the internet and the growing demand for flexibility, our founders created Slasify to bridge the gap between global businesses and remote talent. What started as a small team with a big dream has grown into a global powerhouse. Today, Slasify serves over 150 countries and operates in 130 currencies, empowering businesses to expand without borders. Read more!
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