Hong Kong Savings Association: The average monthly savings of Hong Kong people rose to HK$9,800 per person

The Zhitong Finance App learned that for the 7th year in a row, the Hong Kong Deposit Protection Commission has conducted a survey on the “savings security” index of Hong Kong people. According to the survey, the average monthly savings amount per person reached HK$9,800, an increase of nearly 10% over last year, and a new high since the survey. Meanwhile, 40% of respondents had an average monthly savings of HK$10,000 or more per person, an increase of 6 percentage points over last year.

Furthermore, over 67% of respondents have savings habits, a ratio similar to last year. At a time when interest rates on bank deposits are still high and the investment environment is fluctuating, the respondents' savings methods are still mainly bank current or term savings, which is nearly 80%, which is nearly 5 percentage points more than last year.

Nearly 20% of respondents with savings habits have set annual savings goals. The average target amount is HK$307,000, the highest since the survey was conducted, surging 68% over the previous year. Two thirds of the respondents believed they could achieve their goals, while 40 percent said they were saving to “meet unforeseen needs” (39%), followed by “preparing for retirement” (26%).

According to the survey results, Hong Kong people rated their existing savings as bringing a “sense of security” of 53.5, and nearly 70% of respondents rated their savings “safety” score of 50 or above. Similar to last year, the percentage that gave 80 points or more was 17%, an increase of nearly 3 percentage points over last year. According to the survey, in terms of maintaining a standard of living for a year, Hong Kong people think they need an average of HK$1.03 million in savings or working capital this year to feel secure enough, a slight drop of nearly half compared to last year.

Following 2019, this year's survey once again conducted an in-depth opinion survey on prospective retirees (working people aged 50 to 65) to compare changes in the savings habits of the relevant groups.

This year's survey found that the proportion of quasi-retirees with savings habits was over 80%, up about 10 percentage points from 2019; while the average monthly savings amount per person was 9,600 yuan, a slight decrease of 3 percentage points from 9,900 yuan in 2019; an average savings of 5.45 million yuan was required to have sufficient “security” for retirement; the surveyed retirees most often save money in the form of bank savings (57%) to prepare for retirement, followed by investing in financial products (30%). However, at present, prices continue to rise. If reserves are insufficient, the prospective retirees surveyed will tend to maintain a stable life by working part-time (34%), saving expenses (17%), and delaying retirement (17%).

The survey results also showed that the average of prospective retirees plan to retire at age 64, and the three main factors directly affecting their “sense of security” after retirement are a healthy body (79%), adequate savings (43%), and a stable home (28%).