Hongkongers HK$1.92 million short for "ideal" retirement life

Nearly half (47%) of Hongkongers aged 25-34 think they're too young to consider preparing for their retirement life. 40% of them prefer spending their money on overseas travel, and saving for life after work isn't among their top priorities.

Yet to achieve an "ideal" retirement life, pre-retirees in Hong Kong require HK$5.11 million in savings, according to the latest retirement confidence survey by Allianz Global Investors. That's HK$0.74 million higher than last year on average, and the highest since the survey started four years ago.

Many retirees will only accumulate HK$3.19 million in savings - 62% of their stated ideal, leaving them HK$1.92 million short. Last year, the shortfall was lower at HK$1.19 million on average.

Given those numbers, it's perhaps not surprising that only 29% of respondents indicate they are confident in achieving their ideal retirment life. In fact, 35% have little or no confidence at all, and one third of pre-retirees believe their retirement life will be worse than now. Only 1 out of 10 expect it to be better.

Overall, Hongkongers have postponed both their planned and ideal retirement ages compared to last year. On average respondents said they plan to retire at 62, while their ideal retirement age would be 61.4. Last year, the ages were 61.8 and 61.2, respectively.

While people say retirement preparation and protection from inflation are their top two investment goals, 25% of pre-retirees contribute HK$3,000 per month or less as their additional retirement savings.

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