July 2024
15Jul

Over 60% of Hong Kong elderly with children living abroad at ‘high risk’ of social isolation, survey finds

Feelings of loneliness among elderly people who have children not living in Hong Kong were common, according to a survey by the Hong Kong Christian Service (HKCS). A total of 63 per cent were at high risk of social isolation, while close to 50 per cent showed signs of depression. The figures were an improvement from last year, when almost 80 per cent were found to be at high risk of social isolation, and nearly 70 per cent showed signs...

July 15, 2024
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08Jul

Hong Kong. HSBC fined $3 mln over incentives given to unauthorised agents for MPF scheme

HSBC has been fined HK$24 million ($3.07 million) for offering incentives to "unregistered intermediaries" to get clients to join its Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) scheme in 2020 and 2021, Hong Kong's pension regulator said. The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) also said that it disqualified Yip Sze Ki, former head of pensions at HSBC, from taking up senior executive positions at any MPF operator for the next 18 months, according to a statement on Friday. "The MPFA concluded that HSBC...

July 8, 2024
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June 2024
06Jun

Many Hongkongers must work past retirement age as they face US$300,000 shortfalls in their average pension savings: Schroders survey

The average Hongkonger faces a HK$2.4 million (US$300,000) gap between their expected post-retirement expenses and the money available in their pension funds, according to a survey released on Tuesday. As a result of the eye-watering shortfall, almost three quarters of people believe they will need to continue to work beyond the expected retirement age, according to the recent survey of 1,000 Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) members carried out by Schroders. There is no official retirement age in Hong Kong, but most companies require staff to...

June 6, 2024
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August 2023
09Aug

Hong Kong retirees facing income shortfall of US$641 a month on average, survey shows

Retirees in Hong Kong face a shortfall of HK$5,000 (US$641) on average in their monthly incomes, according to a survey released on Tuesday. The post-retirement incomes of Hongkongers, who usually retire at the age of 62, stand at about HK$12,000 per month on average, according to the survey conducted by BOC Group Life Assurance and Golden Age Foundation. This income was derived mainly from investments and was 60 per cent below their average income before retirement of about HK$30,000, the...

August 9, 2023
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July 2023
31Jul

More Hong Kong workers make voluntary contributions to MPF as returns shrink by 21 per cent

More Hong Kong workers have made voluntary, tax-deductible contributions to their mandatory pension accounts in the past financial year than during the previous one, while the net returns of the scheme shrank 21 per cent due to market volatility. The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), the compulsory retirement scheme that covers 4.7 million residents, had amassed assets worth HK$1.11 trillion (US$142 billion) as of March 31, compared with HK$1.12 trillion a year ago, according to the operator’s annual report released on...

July 31, 2023
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25Jul

Over half of people in Hong Kong expect to Work after Retirement, with One-Third citing Lack of Money

Reasons vary among the different generations, households, and genders – from family obligations, desired lifestyles, and financial status, reflecting the diverse nature of people’s thinking about retirement. The findings are part of Manulife Investment Management's Diverse Asia retirement series, which looks at the challenges and opportunities facing Asia’s ageing populations and how they are woven into the demographic profiles and socioeconomic foundations in the region. For Gen Z, Gen X and Baby boomers, their primary reasons for working after retirement are for their...

July 25, 2023
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May 2023
18May

Hong Kong: Older people are increasingly choosing to work longer

People nearing or past age 65 are increasingly choosing to work longer. Between 2011 and 2021, the share of labour force participants aged 55 to 64 years rose from 49% to 59%, and that of people aged 65 and over more than doubled, from 6.2% to 12.5%, according to a report released by Prudential plc. Financial need is a major motivator in Hong Kong in the decision to prolong one’s working life, as lifespans in Hong Kong grow longer, says...

May 18, 2023
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17May

Hong Kong’s ageing population time bomb to leave a shortage of 60,000 residences for the elderly by 2032: JLL

Hong Kong will face a shortage of over 60,000 residences for the elderly by 2032 as the city’s population rapidly ages, before eventually becoming the world’s oldest society by 2050, according to JLL. The city’s Kwun Tong, Yuen Long, Sha Tin and Eastern district are among the areas with the most serious ageing problem, the property consultancy said in a report on Tuesday. In Kwun Tong, only one in 41 elderly people will find a place in elderly homes, it...

May 17, 2023
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11May

UK MPs urge minister to do more to free Hongkongers’ trapped savings

The first British ministerial visit to Hong Kong since the introduction of draconian Chinese security laws five years ago was a chance to demand that China unlock more than £2bn in pensions belonging to British overseas passport holders who fled for the UK, former cabinet ministers have told the Foreign Office. A letter signed by more than 90 MPs, including 10 former ministers, urges the trade minister Dominic Johnson to do more to release frozen savings belonging to thousands of...

May 11, 2023
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April 2023
19Apr

Hong Kong pensions body slams The Wall Street Journal over claim that BNO passport holders’ assets held ‘hostage’

Hong Kong’s pensions fund authority has demanded that American newspaper The Wall Street Journal retract “misinformation” in an op-ed about holders of British National Overseas (BNO) passports’ access to their pensions. The op-ed, titled “Hong Kong’s Hostage Pensions,” was published by the paper’s editorial board last Friday. It discussed a Mandatory Provident Fund policy that denies pension payouts to emigrants using BNO passports as evidence of early withdrawal of funds. Anyone who permanently leaves the city is normally entitled to make...

April 19, 2023
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