Volunteering aspirations of Hong Kong Chinese soon-to-be-old adults

Older volunteers will be untapped but abundant resources for many non-governmental organizations in the coming two decades. Using a representative random sample of 1,866 adults aged between 45 and 59, we assessed the volunteering aspiration of these adults after their retirement or when they become 60 years old. We also examined the reasons why they planned or did not plan to be volunteers and identified socio-economic characteristics of these adults who planned to be volunteers. About 38% of these respondents planned to be volunteers after retirement and we identified lack of knowledge as well as relevant skills as barriers to volunteerism. Moreover, we found that soon-to-be-old adults who planned to be volunteers were more likely to have higher educational attainment, have higher income level, and be protected by a retirement plan, but less likely to be financially supported by their adult children and receive welfare than those who did not. Copyright © 2003 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.