New retirement survey – can middle-income group enjoy a worry-free retirement?

Everyone wants a rewarding retirement. However, due to high cost of living in Hong Kong, many people worry about their quality of life after retirement. In 2017, the Hong Kong government adopted a three-pronged strategy for the city’s future social security system, including provision of retirement income with old age allowance for low-income households, and various incentive programmes for personal savings and investments for higher-income households. Yet, these policies do not cover middle-income earners, who are usually ineligible for means-tested social security, and do not necessarily have sufficient investments or savings to maintain a similar standard of living after retirement. In light of this issue, we, together with the Caritas Institute of Higher Education and the Sao Po Centre on Ageing, the University of Hong Kong conducted an in-depth survey and presented a number of recommendations aimed at improving retirement protection system for middle-income households.