The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority on Thursday expressed concern that Hong Kong's poor economy could lead to companies failing to make contributions to their workers' accounts.

It said there has been a rising trend of defaults since the pandemic began.

From April to August this year, it sent out around 29,000 notices each month to employers who didn't make contributions on time – 15 percent more than during the same period last year.

Over the same months this year, the authority successfully recovered some HK$69 million in unpaid contributions.

Its chairwoman, Ayesha Lau, said officials are proactively contacting workers who need help.

"We are concerned about possible rising instances of default contributions. That's understandable as well because of the economic situation," she told reporters.

Lau said that in the 2020-21 financial year, the authority was able to recover nearly HK$200 million in unpaid MPF contributions from employers, nearly HK$60 million more than the amount recovered in 2021-22.

She said that was likely because of the government's Employment Support Scheme to help firms with paying wages, which required companies to provide MPF contribution records.