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Ageing society
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Coronavirus exposes cracks in Hongkongers’ retirement planning as health care costs and weak savings dominate worries, EIU survey finds

  • A survey of 600 Hong Kong adults show Covid-19 has made them less prepared for their needs in retirement
  • With the highest life expectancy globally, less than one in four Hongkongers anticipate that they could actually spend over 20 years in retirement.

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Staying afloat: almost everyone surveyed expressed worries about ageing in the city, with health care costs, insufficient savings and income security dominating their concerns. Photo: Sam Tsang
Georgina Lee
The Covid-19 pandemic has left most working adults in Hongkong fearing for their financial position and readiness for retirement, according to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit commissioned by HSBC Life Insurance.
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Some 98 per cent of Hongkongers expressed worries about ageing in the city, with medical and health care costs, insufficient savings and income security dominating their top concerns. Less than a quarter of them expect to have to spend 20 years or more in retirement. Among this group, only 16 per cent have made plans for more than 20 years of life without a salary.

The annual online survey, conducted in June, targeted 600 people aged 30 to 70 in Hong Kong about their needs in preparing for older age. It was also supplemented by interviews with ageing-related non-government organisations or advocacy groups, academics and government bodies.

“Hongkongers will likely work for 40 years and spend another 25 years or more in retirement,” said Edward Moncreiffe, Hong Kong chief executive of HSBC Life. “Our survey shows there remains a serious gap between expectations and the reality required for productive ageing.”

The findings exposed shortcomings in retirement planning as the city continues to rank among the most expensive to live in globally as prices for basic needs like housing have skyrocketed. That is compounded by the high average life-expectancy of 85.3 years among Hongkongers – a world record based on United Nations statistics.

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While there is no official retirement age in Hong Kong, private companies generally ask their workers to retire upon reaching 60 or 65 in line with the local civil service requirements.
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