Major banks and insurers in Hong Kong including HSBC, Manulife and BOC Life are lining up plans to expand their services to elderly residents, a sizeable segment of the city’s population.
People aged 65 and above made up 22 per cent of the city’s 7.5 million residents last year, according to the statistics department. Since 1971, life expectancy in Hong Kong has increased to 82.5 years from 67.8 for men and to 88.1 from 75.3 for women in 2023.
BOC Life aims to widen its “RetireCation” programme launched last month, which allows policyholders to use the cash value of their retirement plans to pay for their stay in properties provided by its partners in major mainland cities. The insurer plans to widen its coverage to Southeast Asia and Japan next year.
“In the past, insurance companies focused on offering protection to families when the breadwinners suddenly passed away,” Wilson Tang, CEO of BOC Life, said in an interview. “Now, there is increasing demand for retirement protection as people are living much longer. They need to start early on retirement planning.”
Tang said the firm will also work on products for high-net-worth customers, especially involving estate planning.
Edward Moncreiffe, CEO of global insurance at HSBC, said there was strong demand for products that allow families to pass on wealth to the next generation.