Hongkongers are worried about their retirement savings, with 84 percent saying the Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme will not be enough to give them security in their old age, according to a survey by HSBC (2005).
A quarter of those polled said the government should increase the retirement age.
"Hong Kong people are facing a harsher reality - they will need to work longer," said Jason Sadler, HSBC Insurance's managing director for Hong Kong.
Another 30 percent of those surveyed said the government should encourage more private retirement savings.
The survey showed that 58 percent of Hong Kong people will continue to save cash once they get their retirement funds. "Their savings run out before they do," Sadler said. "People appear to be exceedingly cautious when spending their nest egg."
About 89 percent of those polled in the SAR said they do not know what their retirement income will amount to. Only 11 percent said they feel well prepared for retirement.
They were much more negative about the effects of the financial tsunami than other people globally, with 68 percent of those surveyed thinking the downturn will affect them for at least another year.
To cope with the financial crisis, 19 percent of Hongkongers will cut back on eating out, socializing and buying clothes, while 13 percent said they would curb spending on big- ticket items such as cars and holidays.
Ten percent said they do not plan to change a single thing about their spending.
HSBC's fifth annual Future of Retirement survey covered 15,000 people in 15 countries and territories, including 1,000 respondents in Hong Kong aged 30 to 70.
The Article: MPF prospects in old age fill most with dread
Benjamin Scent and Dana Bruce
The Standard Hong Kong, 8th July 2009