Retirement income protection in Hong Kong

Introduction In the coming three decades, the demographic profile of the Hong Kong population will undergo a dramatic change. Due to the successful family planning programs, the total fertility rates were as high as 3.5 in the early 1970s, but fell substantially to below replacement level in the late 1970s, and have continued to decrease to about 1.0 in 2006 (Census and Statistics Department, 2007a). Past falls in fertility rates and increasing life expectancy will significantly raise the proportion of older people aged 60 and above from 1.1 million in 2006 (16.0 per cent of total population) to 2.7 million by 2036 (33.4 per cent of the total population; Census and Statistics Department, 2007b). This rapid increase in the number of older adults presents a serious challenge to policy-makers, especially with regard to financial security in old age. In this chapter, we shall examine the concept of the “three pillars of retirement protection” proposed by the World Bank for Hong Kong, how it would serve its purposes, and what can be done to sustain retirement protection in the coming three decades. Copyright © 2009 Tsung-his Fu and Rhidian Hughes for selection and editorial matter; individual contributors hsi their contribution.