HONG KONG, March 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — A recent Manulife survey has revealed that Hong Kong people are unaware how much paper is used in the MPF annual statement pack while a small change can help the environment. As the MPF market leader^[1], Manulife Hong Kong is striving to promote electronic statement by launching the “Go Paperless” Education Aid Program in collaboration with local charitable organization St. James’ Settlement. This project encourages Manulife MPF members to opt for e-Statement and e-Notice, while Manulife will donate up to 400 iPads^[2],[3] to provide under-resourced students in local primary schools with better e-learning opportunities.

To understand MPF members’ attitudes towards electronic statement, Manulife conducted an online survey in December 2019. Among the survey’s 607 respondents, almost two-thirds (63%) still received annual statements in paper form, of which 36% were unaware whether electronic annual statements were available from their MPF scheme providers. Encouragingly, more than half of the respondents were supportive of electronic statement, which included those already receiving electronic statement (29%), and those who prefer electronic statement when reviewing their MPF schemes’ annual performances if available (26%).

Many survey respondents underestimated how much paper was used in their printed MPF annual statement packs^[4]. The survey showed that around three quarters of those receiving paper statements believed their MPF annual statement pack comprised 10 pages or fewer, when in reality annual statement packs from various MPF service providers can go over 30 pages in length. Adding to the waste of paper, about 40% of respondents stated that they disposed paper copies within a year.

In 2018, there were a total of 9.76 million MPF accounts held by a total of 4.37 million scheme members^[5]; up to 70 million pieces of paper were used in Hong Kong for various communications materials sent to MPF scheme members. That number is equivalent to about 8,000 trees being cut down^[6].

“Manulife is actively working to digitize our services as much as we can to provide our customers with the most convenient and efficient experience possible,” said Isabella Lau, Chief Customer Officer at Manulife Hong Kong. “The results of our survey indicate great potential for encouraging take-up of e-Statement and e-Notice. We are excited to add extra meaning to this digital service by teaming up with MPF members to provide our next generation with better e-learning opportunities.”

“Go Paperless” Education Aid Program

Manulife’s “Go Paperless” Education Aid Program is a new community project in partnership with St. James’ Settlement to donate iPads^[3] to primary schools in the 2020/21 school year, based on the number of Manulife MPF members who opt for e-Statement and e-Notice. The program aims to drive positive behavioural change among MPF members to help reduce paper usage while offering better e-learning opportunities for under-resourced local students.

Raymond Ng, Vice President and Head of Employee Benefits at Manulife Hong Kong said, “As a leader in the MPF industry, Manulife is committed to giving back to the community by leading the ‘Go Paperless’ initiatives that create a long-term sustainable impact to the society that we serve. We encourage Manulife MPF members as well as the public at large to opt for e-Statement and e-Notice, not only to enhance efficiency, but also for the benefit of our environment as well as future generations.”

Every opt-in counts!

From now until June 30, 2020, as more MPF customers opt for e-Statement and e-Notice, Manulife will donate iPads^[3] through this education program. The more opt-ins Manulife receives, the more iPads^[3] will be donated to students. Manulife has pledged to donate 400 iPads^[3] if the number of opt-ins reaches 15,000.

Josephine Lee, Chief Executive Officer of St. James’ Settlement said, “E-learning is a popular way of teaching both now and in the future. It gives students a more interactive and engaging way to acquire knowledge. But many schools and families are still deprived of e-learning opportunities because they lack the necessary digital tools. We are grateful to Manulife for initiating this ‘Go Paperless’ program and to its MPF members for supporting it. The more members support it, the more needy students will benefit from e-learning.”

For more information, please visit http://www.manulife.com.hk.

About Manulife Hong Kong

Manulife Hong Kong, through Manulife International Holdings Limited, owns Manulife (International) Limited, Manulife Investment Management (Hong Kong) Limited and Manulife Provident Funds Trust Company Limited. As a member of the Manulife group of companies, Manulife Hong Kong offers a diverse range of protection and wealth products and services to individual and corporate customers in Hong Kong and Macau. 

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we operate as Manulife across our offices in Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. We provide financial advice, insurance, and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2019, we had more than 35,000 employees, over 98,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving almost 30 million customers. As of December 31, 2019, we had C$1.2 trillion (HK$7.2 trillion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made C$29.7 billion in payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 100 years. We trade as ‘MFC’ on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under ‘945’ in Hong Kong.

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