Hong Kong’s leading banks and insurers, incl HSBCManulife and BOC Life are aligning plans to expand their services to senior residents, an important segment of the city’s population.

People aged 65 and over 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 88.1 from 75.3 for women in 2023.

BOC Life aims to expand its “RetireCation” program launched last month, which allows policyholders to use the cash value of their retirement plans to pay for their stay at partner-provided properties in major mainland cities. The insurer plans to expand its coverage to Southeast Asia and Japan next year.

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“In the past, insurance companies focused on providing protection to families when lifeguards died suddenly,” Wilson Tang, CEO of BOC Life, said in an interview. “Now, there is a growing demand for retirement protection as people live much longer. They need to start planning for retirement earlier.”

BOC Life CEO Wilson Tang on December 12, 2024. Photo: Jonathan Wong alt=BOC Life CEO Wilson Tang on December 12, 2024. Photo: Jonathan Wong>

Tang said the company will also work on products for high-net-worth clients, particularly wealth planning.

Edward Moncreiffe, managing director of global insurance at HSBC, said there was strong demand for products that allow families to pass wealth on to the next generation.

“In Hong Kong, there is a growing acceptance among the wealthy first generation of using insurance as a tool for estate planning, with flexibility as one of their top priorities,” he said. “Our savings products offer our customers even more flexibility in tailoring how their death benefits are paid to their loved ones, as well as the ability to appoint a trustee to manage their policy in case of unforeseen circumstances”.

HSBC Life sold a world-record $250 million policy in January. That helped the group’s new insurance value grow 77% in the first half to $1.3 billion. Moncreiffe said there was strong demand from wealthy individuals for such estate planning policies.

Edward Moncreiffe, Managing Director of HSBC Global Insurance, at HSBC’s main building in Central on August 26, 2024. Photo: Dickson Lee alt=Edward Moncreiffe, Managing Director of HSBC Global Insurance, at the HSBC’s main building in Central on August 26, 2024. Photo: Dickson Lee>

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“The insurance industry can meet this demand because insurance policies have named beneficiaries, can be executed privately intestate, provide liquidity and severability, and can pay very large wealth transfer sums.”

HSBC introduced more features to its products related to the Compulsory provident fund (MPF), a compulsory retirement scheme introduced by the government in 2000, to help retirees manage their accumulated benefits and maintain financial well-being, said Lo Tak-fonf, chief executive of HSBC Pension.

“In particular, we have enhanced our retirement options to better meet the evolving needs of retirees,” he said. “In addition to lump sum and partial withdrawals, we now offer a monthly withdrawal option, which provides a stable income for living expenses.”

Patrick Graham, CEO of Manulife (International) Limited, pictured in Ngau Tau Kok on June 3, 2024. Photo: Xiaomei Chen alt=Patrick Graham, CEO of Manulife (International) Limited, pictured in Ngau Tau Kok on June 3 , 2024. Photo: Xiaomei Chen>

Manulife Hong Kong chief executive Patrick Graham said the insurer would like a bigger share of the silver-haired economy, where life expectancy is the second highest in the world. More than a third of the population will be over 65 by 2041, he added.

“We anticipate strong and continued demand from this demographic for a variety of health and savings solutions that address their longevity needs.”

Manulife is the largest pension provider in the city, which has introduced annuity and MPF services along with life insurance products for retirees to ensure that they have a stable income stream in their post-retirement age, Graham added.

He said Manulife will introduce more critical illness health insurance, medical treatments as well as other monitoring programs to meet the needs of the aging population in the Greater Bay Area. About 88,000 Hong Kongers aged 65 and over lived in southern Guangdong province in 2022, up 11% from 2017, according to government data.

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