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Enoch Yiu

Wealthy Hongkongers now invest in a way that shows they do not have a fixed retirement age in mind, as most of them expect to work longer than their parents, according to a survey.
Some 58 per cent of high-net-worth individuals in Hong Kong expected to work beyond retirement age, with 32 per cent anticipating they would work five to 10 years past it and another 26 per cent assuming they would work as long as possible, said the survey, released by Manulife on Tuesday.
Hong Kong has no official retirement age, although many companies require employees to retire at 60 or 65.
“Hong Kong’s affluent are increasingly moving beyond the idea of a single, fixed retirement,” said Wilton Kee Wing-tao, CEO of Manulife Hong Kong and Macau. “Instead, many are preparing for multiphase lives that blend work, family responsibilities and personal aspirations.”
Among the 11 Asia-Pacific markets surveyed, Hong Kong had a relatively high number of rich people who expected to work five to 10 years beyond normal retirement age. The figure was lower in both mainland China and Singapore at 27 per cent, while Japan’s 37 per cent exceeded Hong Kong’s 32 per cent.
As people’s expectations for retirement changed, they also changed their investment approach, according to the insurer. Two-thirds of survey respondents said they were redesigning their portfolios to support a more flexible lifestyle rather than a fixed retirement date.
The research shows that what clients increasingly need is not just performance, but coherence
Wilton Kee Wing-tao, Manulife
The survey was conducted in April and May with 1,000 respondents who had net worth ranging from US$3 million to more than US$50 million, including 250 in Hong Kong. The other markets surveyed were mainland China, Australia, Japan, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.
“The research shows that what clients increasingly need is not just performance, but coherence: a strategy that can adapt to changing circumstances, anticipate future needs, and bring investments, protection and succession planning into a single integrated view,” Kee said.
People aged 65 and above comprised 22 per cent of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents in 2024, according to official data. Projections indicated that senior citizens would account for 31 per cent of the population by 2036.
Those who want to retire at a fixed age need to have a large lump sum saved by retirement. In June, the Hong Kong Retirement Schemes Association (HKRSA) and pension consultant WTW released a report that showed a woman retiring at 65 and living to 90 would need HK$5.4 million (US$688,000), rising to HK$7.1 million if she lived to 100.
A man retiring at 65 and living to 86 would need at least HK$4.6 million, rising to HK$6.6 million if he lived to 97.
The Manulife figures stand in contrast to those from a survey released by Standard Chartered last week, in which 49 per cent of Hongkongers with HK$1 million in assets said early retirement was their life goal, followed by in-depth travel for 48 per cent and holistic wellness for 47 per cent.
The Manulife survey also showed that Hong Kong’s rich families were the most pessimistic among all the markets about the next generation’s ability to manage family wealth, with 41 per cent expressing a lack of confidence in their offspring.
More than half of Hong Kong respondents said they had not yet involved their future heirs in wealth planning discussions, Manulife said.


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More people plan to work longer and ‘blend work, family responsibilities and personal aspirations’, Manulife Hong Kong CEO says


More people plan to work longer and ‘blend work, family responsibilities and personal aspirations’, Manulife Hong Kong CEO says.


Even the rich in Hong Kong expect to work past retirement age, survey says

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}More people plan to work longer and ‘blend work, family responsibilities and personal aspirations’, Manulife Hong Kong CEO says

More people plan to work longer and ‘blend work, family responsibilities and personal aspirations’, Manulife Hong Kong CEO says