With Hongkongers living longer, there is no reason they should stop working at 65 when they can still contribute to the city’s economy
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenMike RowseMike Rowse has lived in Hong Kong since 1972, and is a naturalised Chinese citizen. Published: 5:30am, 29 Jun 2026Hong Kong faces the prospect of a tsunami of elderly poverty sweeping over society in the coming decades. The question is what to do about it. The good news is that there are ways to reduce the severity of the problem. The bad news is that these will take time to be effective, so we need to start work immediately.
It is easy to be cynical about the outcome of studies conducted by or on behalf of those with a vested interest in the outcome. Also, some findings need to be seen in context. For example, the average savings figure will include many people who have only recently started work and have not had time to accumulate greater sums. The average for those on the cusp of retirement would be more relevant, but even allowing for these caveats, the situation looks grim.
The study uses 65 as a relevant benchmark, which seems to accord with accepted local opinion, but it is surely time to challenge that assumption. If we are living to 85 or older on average, it is simply not practicable to plan on the basis of 20 years of leisure at the end of a normal working life.
