Health, retirement are affluent Asians’ top financial worries in 2024

Globally, 3 in 10 Baby Boomers surveyed are still behind their savings goals, says HSBC.

Health-related concerns are influencing affluent Asians’ financial priorities, HSBC’s quality of life report showed.

Respondents from Asia– which accounted for 60% of the 11,000 affluent people surveyed globally– expressed rising healthcare costs (54%) and the impact of physical (60%) and mental (44%) health issues as top worries.

The health-related concerns are reflected in the financial priorities of Asia’s affluent: almost 1 in 2 (46%) ranked ‘gaining wealth for financial security’ as their top priority.

Planning for retirement (43%) and having sufficient insurance coverage (41%) followed as their next top financial goals.

Gaps
Despite their concerns, there remains gaps in the respondents’ healthcare and retirement preparedness. In Asia, 1 in 4 Gen Xers believe that they lack adequate health coverage, and 1 in 5 Gen Z and Millennials said the same.

Almost 1 in 2 (42%) of affluent Asians surveyed said that they do not feel prepared for retirement. 

Those living in Hong Kong (47%), mainland China (55%), and Taiwan (51%) said they feel less prepared compared to other markets.

Even middle aged and older people said that they are unprepared for retirement: Gen Xers are less likely than other generations to have comprehensive retirement plans.

For Baby Boomers, 3 in 10 are still behind their savings goals, and over 1 in 4 lack a retirement plan, HSBC found.

Wealth and legacy
This intention-action gap extends to legacy planning– whilst 8 in 10 of affluents globally believe that early planning is crucial, fewer than 4 in 10 have created a will or succession plan.

Over 1 in 3 (35%) of Baby Boomers have yet to start planning at all.

In Asia, 1 in 3 (33%) are even less likely to have created a will or succession plan compared to the 43% of those outside the region.

Cost of living worries
Globally, cost of living emerged as the top worry of affluent individuals, according to almost 7 in 10 (68%) of the 11,000 respondents of HSBC’s survey.

Over 6 in 10 (61%) are worried about the impact of inflation on savings, which they said could impact their life plans.

Having better financial planning increases life satisfaction, said Jenny Wang, global and Asia head of personal banking wealth solutions for HSBC’s investments and wealth solutions team.

Amongst the 11,000 respondents surveyed, those who address their financial needs and objectives in their planning are 50% more satisfied with their lives, HSBC found.

“As this research demonstrates, the upsides to comprehensive financial planning are manifold, including greater life satisfaction,” Wang said.