Ageing is not a problem to be solved; it is an opportunity. Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF) launched a new report, titled “Reimagining the Silver Ecosystem: Towards Meaningful Retirement”. It advocates for a new view of retirement centred on helping retired adults fulfil their goals and aspirations, not just meeting their basic needs.

Although retired adults in Hong Kong are living longer, they are not necessarily living healthier or happier. OHKF contends that retirement quality of life depends not only on whether retired adults can stay active, but also on whether they achieve “meaningful retirement”– feeling that life makes sense, having goals to work towards, and being valued. This pursuit of meaning represents a shift from a need-based approach (focused on basic survival and comfort) to a demand-based approach that recognises retirees as active contributors to families, communities, and economies, who possess the dynamism to learn, grow, and adapt.

Through in-depth interviews and a comprehensive review of existing population-based studies in Hong Kong, this report investigates the concept of meaningful retirement and assesses the extent to which the current ecosystem in Hong Kong enables retired adults of all needs, interests, and backgrounds to achieve it.

The five main demand-based goals of retirement identified in this report are:

1. Health and well-being

2. Lifelong learning

3. Sense of belonging

4. Fun and leisure

5. Self-worth

Whether retired adults can achieve their goals depends on three critical enablers: positive personality, financial security, and strong social connections.

Landscape analysis of Hong Kong’s silver ecosystem

OHKF analysed Hong Kong’s current ecosystem for retirement, focusing on policy and market participation.

In terms of the policy, we observe that:

• The Government’s support for retired adults has traditionally centred on establishing a robust safety net to address fundamental needs.

• In the last 10 years, there has been a notable expansion in the scope and reach of initiatives designed to meet the evolving demands of a more active population of retired adults.

Retired adults today expect more diversity in the Government’s offerings; however, the Government’s generalised views of retired adults and its reactive approach to policymaking, limit its ability to target and adopt forward-thinking measures. This gap is, however, increasingly addressed by market players in Hong Kong, ranging from non-profit organisations to private enterprises, who contribute significantly by meeting the heterogeneous needs of diverse retiree groups in a more responsive manner. All actors involved in the delivery of products, services, economic activities and non-economic activities for retired adults are collectively referred to as the silver ecosystem.

In terms of market participation, we observe that:

• A pervasive low level of age-inclusiveness exists across numerous industries. While inclusion is evident in domains promoting health, sense of belonging, and lifelong learning, it is markedly insufficient in domains related to fun and leisure and self-worth.

• Sectors with higher age-inclusiveness are dominated by government-led, subsidised or specialist services. Age-inclusiveness has not achieved mainstream integration within the private sector, with only the healthcare-related service domain exhibiting both well-established age-inclusive standards and significant private-sector involvement.

Vision for Hong Kong’s retirement ecosystem

OHKF’s vision for Hong Kong is to establish a vibrant ecosystem that enables retired adults to enjoy a meaningful retirement life, where retired adults are financially secure, deeply connected to their communities, and empowered to contribute, while diverse community actors collaborate to provide a comprehensive spectrum of services and products to meet retired adults’ needs and demands.

Realising this vision requires a proactive and comprehensive policy roadmap, structured across three primary levels:

• Personal level: taking lessons from Canada and Netherlands, Hong Kong could consider increasing the visibility of relatable role models and promote long-term financial planning.

• Connectivity level: taking lessons from the United Kingdom, Hong Kong could build peer support and referral networks and enhance information accessibility about opportunities.

• Provision level: taking lessons from Japan, Hong Kong needs to further cultivate a diverse silver economy that reflects diverse interests and fundamentally involves retired adults themselves in service design.