More than half, or 57% of mass affluent Malaysians (those with investible assets of RM480,000 to RM9 million) surveyed say that they are concerned about retirement, this was according to an inaugural HSBC Quality of Life report.
The survey explores the concept of a good Quality of Life across different generations of mass-affluent individuals in nine markets, and found that the top three concerns that mass-affluent Malaysians have when thinking about retirement were
a decline in physical health, followed by higher healthcare costs and inflation eating into the value of their retirement savings.
Nevertheless, it pointed out that Malaysia’s mass affluent aspire to retire early at 57 years of age— three years shy of the mandatory retirement age in Malaysia of 60 years. The aspired retirement age for Malaysia at 57 years was also the lowest amongst the 9 markets surveyed, with the UK having the highest aspired retirement age of 62 years, four years shy of the UK state pension retirement age of 66 years.
The mass affluent individuals surveyed were also split on plans to work after retirement, with 44% saying they will work after retirement, 44% saying they will not, and the remaining 12% are undecided at this point. To retire comfortably, the respondents said that they would need average retirement savings of around RM3.9 million, which was lower than Hong Kong (RM5.2 million) and Singapore (RM4.4 million) but higher than the UK (RM3.6 million) and the UAE (RM3.3 million). Millennial respondents (age 25-39 years) in Malaysia said they need an average of RM4.86 million to retire comfortably,
Gen X (age 40-54 years) RM4.53 million and boomers (age 55-69 years) RM2.57 million.
Respondents cited personal savings, followed by retirement savings schemes and individual stock fund and bond investments as the top sources of income that they would expect to rely on once they retire. The report also unveiled a Quality of Life Index which comprises three factors that consumers consider most important to having a good quality of life—Physical and
Mental Wellness, and Financial Fitness.
Out of 100, respondents in Malaysia scored 77 on the overall Quality of Life Index which was higher than the overall score across nine markets of 75—but lower compared to other markets such UAE and India (both 80)
Malaysian respondents cited salaries and wages as their top source of wealth, followed by dividends, inheritance, profits from businesses and property rental. Linda Yip, Country Head of Wealth and Personal Banking, HSBC Malaysia said: “The Quality of Life survey paints an interesting representation of the holistic needs of the mass affluent in Malaysia—being financially fit is important to them, but so is their physical and mental wellbeing.
