HONG KONG : Residents leaving Hong Kong permanently withdrew HK$1.716 billion ($218.65 million) from pension accounts in the fourth quarter of 2022, down 28 per cent from a year earlier, government data showed on Tuesday.
A total of 7,000 claims to withdraw money from the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) were made over October-December by people moving away from Hong Kong, compared with 8,700 claims withdrawing HK$2.384 billion in the same period of 2021.
The figure also compared with 8,600 claims in July-September that saw withdrawals of HK$2.177 billion, 8,600 claims withdrawing HK$2.114 billion in April-June, and 7,500 claims withdrawing HK$2.014 billion January-March.
The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority said multiple claims are sometimes made by a single person as a scheme member may have more than one account.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, the total number of claims – spanning all reasons, such as retirement – was about 53,000, a decline of 8 per cent from the previous quarter.
Curbs to control the spread of COVID-19 are among reasons for people leaving Hong Kong, which has closely followed China’s zero-COVID-19 policy since 2020 but began easing restrictions in August.
The city will drop its COVID-19 mask mandate from March 1 to attract visitors, stimulate business and restore normal life more than three years after stringent rules were first imposed in the financial hub.
($1 = 7.8483 Hong Kong dollars)
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