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The following is issued on behalf of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority:
The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) today (27 March) announced that the MPFA will launch the Injection Hotline 2926 6000 starting from next Monday (30 March) to let scheme members lodge enquiries or requests for review of eligibility.
The operating hours of the Injection Hotline will be from 8:45am to 5:45pm, Monday to Friday. The Hotline will include a 24-hour Interactive Voice Response System which allows scheme members to check their eligibility at any time by using ID card number and date of birth.
An MPFA spokesperson said, ¡§We are going to open 48 telephone lines, and if circumstances warrant, we can mobilize additional staff and open up to 150 telephone lines to handle the enquiries.¡¨
As at today, among the 1.364 million eligible MPF scheme members, around 99% (over 1.3 million members) have received the injection. As for the remaining 40,000 eligible ORSO scheme members, trustees already informed them in writing in March that they would receive the injection and injection notification in April.
The spokesperson said, ¡§Scheme members who consider themselves eligible but have not received the injection notification can call the Injection Hotline to enquire or request for review of eligibility on or before 30 September 2009.¡¨
The spokesperson emphasized that scheme members who wish to request for review of eligibility can, apart from calling the Injection Hotline, write to the MPFA or visit the Government Injection Project Office located at the MPFA¡¦s Kwun Tong office in person (Address: 25/F, Tower 1, Millennium City 1, 388 Kwun Tong Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon). Scheme members can lodge requests for review of eligibility during the above six-month period. Any late request for review of eligibility will not be considered.
The spokesperson reminded scheme members that when lodging requests for review, they are required to provide identification documentation and income proof, and other relevant information (e.g. photocopy of Hong Kong ID card, employment contract, MPF membership certificate, payroll slips, Annual Benefit Statements, proof of residential address, etc).
"Scheme members who have lodged requests for review will be notified of the results by the MPFA in writing. If a person is not satisfied with the MPFA's decision on the review, he/she should lodge an appeal to the MPFA within three weeks after a written notification of the MPFA's decision on the review is issued. Any late submission of appeal request will not be considered. All appeals will be handled by an appeal panel chaired by the Chairman of the MPF Schemes Advisory Committee and comprising non-executive directors of the MPFA. The appeal panel will review the decision having taken into consideration all of the information provided by the appellant and the findings of the MPFA's investigation. The individual will be notified of the outcome of the appeal in writing. The decision of the appeal panel will be final."
On the other hand, scheme members who have received the injection but consider themselves ineligible should contact the MPFA as soon as possible. The MPFA will arrange dedicated officers to follow up the cases.
The spokesperson also called on eligible scheme members who have changed their correspondence addresses but have not yet informed their trustees to do so as soon as possible so that they can obtain the notification of injection timely. For those scheme members who are supposed to receive the injection by cheque sent by mail (including those members who have withdrawn the accrued benefits of their MPF/ORSO accounts and closed their accounts on the grounds of retirement, early retirement, total incapacity or permanent departure from Hong Kong), they should immediately update their trustees of their changes of correspondence addresses; otherwise, their receipt of the injection and notification may be affected.
Ends/Friday, March 27, 2009
Issued at HKT 20:51
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