Secretary for Labour & Welfare Dr Law Chi-kwong said the passage of the bill for abolishing the "offsetting" arrangement under the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) System is a historic moment.

Dr Law made the statement after the passage of the Employment & Retirement Schemes Legislation (Offsetting Arrangement) (Amendment) Bill 2022 by the Legislative Council this afternoon, saying that is an important milestone in improving employees' retirement protection.

He said: “Six years and a half since the public consultation on retirement protection in 2015, the legislative amendments have now been completed.

“I would like to thank various sectors in the community for their views and suggestions on the abolition proposal, many of which have been incorporated in the final version. I would also like to thank government colleagues for their efforts in taking forward this initiative, as well as the support of the Legislative Council and the bills committee chairman's leadership in concluding the scrutiny of the bill."

Looking ahead, Dr Law said there are a number of tasks remain to be done before the abolition takes effect, including planning to introduce a bill for the Designated Savings Accounts Scheme in the next legislative session, setting up an information technology system for its operation, preparing to provide a government subsidy to employers for 25 years as well as conducting promotion to assist employers in understanding the abolition arrangements.