51% of people plan to work after retirement to preserve their health and wealth, inaugural HSBC Quality of Life Report finds

Over half of people expect to work after retirement, according to the inaugural HSBC Quality of Life Report.

Younger generations hope to retire earlier than their predecessors. But the financial implications of living longer and other headwinds led to 85% of those surveyed citing financial concerns as a key motivation behind the decision to continue working. Financial reasons included ensuring financial security, having health insurance coverage, and meeting financial obligations. Many also alluded to more holistic reasons, including staying engaged and active (70%) or building skills and knowledge (51%).

Despite most people already saving for retirement, over half of respondents feel financially unprepared for this stage in their life. On average, there was gap of 71% between actual retirement savings and the amount needed. In Singapore, people anticipate needing 936K USD to lead a comfortable lifestyle. In Hong Kong, this number increased to 1.1M USD, followed closely by mainland China’s 929K USD and Malaysia’s 829K USD.

Only half of mass affluent in Singapore feel prepared for retirement

With the rising cost of living, 84% of Singapore respondents consider it as their top financial concern, with 75% concerned about the impact of inflation eating into the value of their savings. While Singapore respondents rate planning for retirement as their top financial goals, one-third do not have a comprehensive plan for retirement. Notably, respondents in Singapore and Hong Kong expressed heightened concerns about healthcare costs, more than any other market surveyed.

Ashmita Acharya, Head of Wealth and Personal Banking, HSBC Singapore, said, “Concerns expressed by the survey respondents relating to retirement underscore the pressing need to raise awareness of financial planning tools and products that may assist in obtaining the coverage they need for a comfortable retirement. This is the impetus of our refreshed Premier proposition which provides a comprehensive suite of wealth and insurance products that offer protection and instill peace of mind as individuals navigate the different stages of life.”

Strengthening proposition across the wealth continuum

Over the past year, HSBC has expanded its suite of wealth products and solutions to provide holistic and comprehensive offering to meet client needs throughout different life stages:

• Financial education programme in collaboration with Sophia – a female-focused financial education platform: HSBC is offering 1,000 female Premier customers with free, exclusive access to a range of financial education courses. The programme offers several online, self-paced financial courses covering fundamentals such as money basics, budgeting and Wealth 101 to more complex themes such as how to talk to your children about money, the different ways to invest and investment strategies to start your money journey and sustainable investing.
• Retirement calculator: Online tools such as HSBC Retirement calculator (www.hsbc.com.sg/wealth/planning-for-retirement-calculator/) can help assess and provide insights.
• Wealth advisory: HSBC Relationship Managers supported by a team of investment, insurance and FX specialists can provide insights and guidance to help clients’ reach financial goals.
• Wealth dashboard: our HSBC Wealth Dashboard function can help manage customers’ investment portfolio and assist clients keep track of their wealth and investments online. It is also integrated into Online Banking and HSBC Singapore app (under the ‘Wealth’ tab).
• Wealth Portfolio Intelligence Service: Exclusively for Premier customers, HSBC Wealth Portfolio Intelligence Service is a Relationship Manager-guided journey that provides clients professional tools, with end-to-end financial planning and tracking capabilities.

Quality of Life Index Findings

The Quality of Life Index is based on assessment against three key dimensions: physical wellness, mental wellness and financial fitness, all three of which are inextricably linked. Those who rated themselves as physically or financially fit were significantly more likely to score above average for mental wellness.

“In particular, the link between physical, mental and financial health was insightful and has reinforced our commitment to providing a well-rounded product offering that nurtures all three aspects of consumer well-being” stated Acharya.

The survey holistically explored the financial goals, life decisions and expectations of individuals as they look to future-proof their quality of life.

Other key findings from the HSBC Quality of Life Report include:

• Millennials aspire to retire 7 years earlier than Boomers on average
• The impact of current economic uncertainty is apparent; 58% of global respondents want to gain wealth for financial security in the present and near-term future as a top financial goal
• Over one in four individuals plan to relocate at some point to achieve a better quality of life
• Less than half of respondents have written a will and 20% say they don’t know where to start with legacy planning

“Understanding the priorities and concerns of our clients enable us to gain insights into our clients that helps us to better meet their needs and plug gaps in our service offering,” continued Acharya.

The HSBC Quality of Life Report gathered data from 2,250 respondents across nine different markets: China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.

Click here to read the full report.