Vesting and Payment of Benefits

Question: Under what circumstances will the benefits attributable to GVC / SDSC be vested and payable to me?

Answer: GVC benefits will be fully vested and payable to you if you -

retire from the civil service on or after reaching the normal retirement age stipulated in the Terms and Conditions of the Civil Service Provident Fund Scheme (“T&C”) ; or
die in service (in which case your benefits will be paid to your personal representative); or
retire from the service due to personal incapacity; or
leave the civil service after having completed at least 10 years of continued service since first appointment on civil service terms; or
receive payment of accrued benefits derived from the mandatory contributions on the ground of terminal illness as provided under the MPF law.

SDSC benefits will be fully vested and payable to you if you are a disciplined services officer immediately before retirement / leaving the civil service and -

retire from the civil service on or after reaching the prescribed / normal retirement age set out in the T&C; or
die in service (in which case your benefits will be paid to your personal representative); or
retire from the service due to personal incapacity; or
receive payment of accrued benefits derived from the mandatory contributions on the ground of terminal illness as provided under the MPF law.

Notwithstanding the vesting and payment criteria set out above, there are provisions in the relevant T&C to enable the forfeiture, reduction or recovery of benefits attributable to GVC / SDSC on disciplinary grounds, and withholding of such benefits in case of doubt.

Question: How is “Completed Years of Service” calculated?

Answer: “Completed Years of Service” means your continuous period of service without a break since first appointment on civil service terms, i.e. it will include the service on new probationary terms / new agreement terms but exclude any period of no-pay leave, interdiction / imprisonment without pay or secondment with other forms of retirement benefits during the service period.

Question: When can I expect to receive the GVC and SDSC benefits?

Answer: Your department will have to check whether you meet the vesting and payment criteria and whether there is any disciplinary reason not to release your GVC / SDSC benefits. For straightforward cases and where it is certain that you are not subject to, or likely to be subject to, any disciplinary or criminal investigations, the management should be able to notify the scheme trustee to release the relevant benefits within a short period of time, normally not later than three months after your last day in service or the date when your application for vesting and payment of your GVC / SDSC benefits on the ground of terminal illness is received. The trustee would then take less than a month to effect the payment of benefits, unless there are special circumstances.

For complicated cases, the time required to make the final decision for releasing such benefits would depend on circumstances of individual cases.

Question: When can I withdraw the benefits attributable to my own voluntary contributions?

Answer: The accrued benefits attributable to your own voluntary contributions are always fully vested in you. Withdrawal of the accrued benefits attributable to such contributions will be made in accordance with the provisions of the Master Trust Scheme you have joined.

Question: When can I receive the benefits attributable to mandatory contributions?

Answer: Mandatory contributions made by the Government and you are fully and immediately vested in you. You can withdraw such benefits when you meet one of the payment requirements stipulated under the MPF law, which include:

reaching age 65;
early retirement between age 60 and 64 (permanent cessation of employment);
death (the accrued benefits will be regarded as part of your estate to be claimed by the personal representative of the estate);
total incapacity
permanent departure from Hong Kong; or
terminal illness.