The number of people aged 60 years
and over is increasing. According to the UN, by 2050 it is projected
to reach almost two billion, or 22% of the world’s population. Increasing
longevity is changing the way we live and work. HSBC is dedicated to advancing
the global debate on maturing populations and our changing approach to ageing
and retirement. By building a vast resource of knowledge to engage and inform
a range of people worldwide, we aim to help governments, individuals and businesses
better understand the significant changes they are going to experience.
The Future of Retirement: What the
world wants study is the world’s largest
survey on attitudes to ageing, longevity and retirement conducted amongst
21,329 individuals and 6,018 private sector employers in 20 countries and
territories across five continents. The results compare the attitudes of employers
and consumers regarding ageing and retirement.
Indians view later life as a time for rest and relaxation where they are
cared for by their families. Staying healthy, having a loving family and friends
and not having to worry about money are all extremely important to achieving
a happy old age for Indians. Indians support enforced additional private savings
as the best approach to avoid a retirement funding shortfall.
- Indians
are less likely to view their later years as a time of worry, probably because
they feel they can reliably count on their children and families for support
and care. - However,
although they expect to have their children to allow them to move in if
they need care or assistance in old age, they would admit that ideally they
would not live with their families. - They rarely
think they will need to bear their own retirement costs. Nor do they expect
the government to pick up the tab. Instead, all generations of Indians feel
their children or other family members will bear most of their retirement
costs. This may be why there is only a moderate level of planning and preparing
for retirement amongst pre-retirees. - If Indians
were to choose to work in later life they would prefer to either work part-time
or go back and forth between periods of work and leisure. The most important
reason for continuing to work would be for the additional income.
Indian employers recognise and value the benefits of retaining older workers.
The main reason given for not doing more to attract and keep them is that
government regulations get in the way. However, Indian companies do not do
as much as many of their international counterparts to recruit workers over
the age of fifty and they are the most likely in the world to encourage their
workers to take full early retirement. Indian employers, with the exception
of their Indonesian counterparts, are also the most in favour of being allowed
to enforce a mandatory retirement age.