Not enough money? 5 in 10 Hongkongers say they need to work after retirement

Reasons for working after retirement vary per generation.

More than half of the people in Hong Kong believe they will still need to work even after retirement, research from Manulife Investment Management revealed.

According to the research, Hongkongers’ reasons for working after retirement vary per generation, but the most common reason is not having enough money to truly retire.

Amongst all generations, Gen Zs have the highest likelihood to work after retirement (67%), followed by Gen X (59%), Millennials (52%), and Baby Boomers (48%).

The younger generations, however, have started saving for retirement at an earlier age (Gen Z at 21 years old and Millennials at 28 years old) whereas the older generations started much later (Gen X at 39 years old and Baby Boomers at 44 years old).

Gen Zs want to work after retirement to keep their life interesting (45%) and keep themselves active and socially connected (45%). 

Compared to millennials (38%), fewer Gen Zs (20%) cited their current income not being enough as a factor for working after retirement.

Most millennials (41%) also want to work after retirement to support themselves in case of financial emergency.

The research also observed that Hong Kong people want to work after retirement to support their families financially.

“The next generations may not only need to provide support for their retired parents, but they may also need to prepare for diminished upstream familial support when they retire,” the report stated.