Safeguarding your retirement nest egg

tarting with this issue, we're pleased to present the new "Happy staff" column. As you know, "Happy staff" is one of the tenets of the HA's new Vision. And how can the HA help to make you happy? Of course, providing you with a stable job is one very important way. But protecting the value of your pension should not be overlooked either. So we are going to begin by highlighting the HA Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme (HAMPFS), because financial security is a key element of happy living.

How does the HA provide retirement benefits to its staff? HAMPFS is one way. Here are the key milestones in its development.

1)
The HA appoints Invesco Hong Kong Limited as its MPF service provider.

2)
The MPF System is introduced in Hong Kong in December.

3)
The HA sets up the HAMPFS Performance Review Committee and begins to hold regular meetings with the Committee members and Invesco's representatives.

4)
The HA appoints Towers Watson (formerly Watson Wyatt) to monitor Invesco's performance.

5)
Towers Watson conducts a survey of HAMPFS members and analyses its results. The HA then considers a number of factors, including members' feedback, the HA's perspectives, cost-impact, communication efforts, administration and MPF trends. It finally decides to retain Invesco as the service provider for HAMPFS, while stepping up its monitoring of the Scheme.

6)
The HA appoints Towers Watson to review the Minimum Performance Standard and Performance Targets of HAMPFS.

7)
The HA begins to hold regular performance-review meetings with Towers Watson and Invesco.

8)
The HA appoints Bank Consortium Trust Company Limited as its MPF trustee and administrator, replacing HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Asia) Limited.

9)
The HA appoints Towers Watson to review the Pricing, Minimum Performance Standard and Performance Targets of HAMPFS funds.

10)
Towers Watson completes its analysis of the results. They show that Invesco's fee is very competitive. Towers Watson advises the HA to retain its existing Minimum Performance Standard, but to increase the investment objectives for various equity and bond funds (except the Guaranteed Fund and Capital Preservation Fund). The HA decides to continue monitoring Invesco's performance, with the help of Towers Watson.

If you would like any further information about HAMPFS, or if you encounter any problems concerning the Scheme, you can contact Invesco in the following ways:

	Call INVESCall, the dedicated hotline for HA staff members, on 3191 8088;
	Visit INVESNet, a customised site for HA staff at www.mpf.invesco.com.hk;
	E-mail memberservices@hkg.invesco.com ; or
	Get in touch with the Invesco Pension InfoCentres at various HA locations (these have been set up to answer the pension-related inquiries of newly-joined and existing employees and provide members' communication materials and frequently-used administrative forms to them).
	You can also find out more about HAMPFS by visiting the HA Intranet — HAMPFS website (http://mpf.home/) or contacting the Human Resources Department of your cluster or hospital.