Travel and see the world after retirement
Recently there was an interesting survey in the United Kingdom about the top 20 regrets that people had in life. Sitting on top of this list is "not travelling more and seeing more of the world"1. Coincidentally, a consumer survey report shows that Hong Kong people are one of the most eager to travel in the next 12 months and the most frequent leisure and business travellers across 14 markets in Asia Pacific2.
So, as travel lovers, how much do we here in Hong Kong have to save in retirement to continue our dreams to travel and see the world? The answer depends on personal interest and your choice of destination, but as an example, with reference to the current general market information, the price for a standard group tour to Europe ranges from HKD15,000 to 20,000 whereas for Southeast Asia it is something between HKD5,000 to 7,000. Assuming two vacations annually, the fare expenses for one long-haul and one short-haul trips would be HKD30,000 to 50,000 per year. For 10 years, it means a few hundred thousand HK dollars.
Past surveys suggested that retirement income needed to reach at least 80%3 of the pre-retirement pay for the retiree to sustain a comfortable and active life. However, this is not a golden rule. In the first few years of retirement for the relatively young healthy retirees, they will enjoy more free time to spend money for leisure and gatherings with friends, not to mention travel. Expenses may even be more than the salary before retirement. These expenditures have to be included in the retirement reserves to enable you stay socially active after retirement. Thinking and planning ahead is important. Prudential has a brand new platform – the "What is Your Retirement Number?" Calculator – to help you with detailed analysis and estimates.
The abovementioned costs of trips are for references only. The actual fare expenses for tips depends on your actual needs and choices.
1Regrets, we have a few: And we spend two hours a week dwelling on them, Mail Online, 2012-11-22,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2236893/Regrets-And-spend-hours-week-dwelling-them.html
2Majority Intend to Travel as Much or More Frequently Over the Next 12 months, Hong Kong Tops Asia/Pacific Region for Leisure and Business Travel: MasterCard Survey, 2012-09-18,
http://www.mastercard.com/hk/personal/en/wce/pdf/HK_CPP_Travel_E_Final.pdf
3Retirement survey: A gap between ideal and reality among Hong Kong general public (in Chinese), 2010-06-24, ETnet,
http://www.etnet.com.hk/www/tc/funds/commentary_detail.php?newsid=ETN200624686&page=2
Source: King Content Pty Ltd.
Prudential Hong Kong Limited (A member of Prudential plc group)
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