Lifelong education after retirement, a time of fulfillment and enjoyment
Originating in the West, the term "third age of life1" is an emerging concept that defines the stage of life where we have moved past work and familial responsibilities. Empowered with good health and free time, retirees have the freedom to do fulfill their dreams.
One of the newer items on the retirees' to-do list in recent years is – going back to school. To cope with the growing demand from this silver-haired group, universities and sponsoring education institutes in Hong Kong have developed a number of diverse programs from personal-interest driven subjects such as wine tasting, cooking and computer learning to more academic courses. Some universities even recorded a six-fold increase in new enrollments within the past few years2. It reflects that "life-long education" is a growing and well-received phenomenon among Hong Kong retirees.
If you're inspired to acquire new knowledge after retirement, you have to reassess your financial plan. The tuition fee for different courses might vary from a few hundred Hong Kong dollars up to tens of thousands. It is all up to your own choice.
Apart from the tuition fee, you also need to take into consideration the extra expenses that you might incur in developing new hobbies and a social network. For instance, a wine tasting course may cost you just a few thousand, but overall expenditure may be multiplied to fulfill you more sophisticated tastes and requirements. Such wine tasting courses may also connect you to a new circle of friends with different social styles. Prudential's specially designed a "What is Your Retirement Number?" Calculator to help you start planning ahead.
The abovementioned costs of the wine tasting and personal-interest courses are for reference purposes only. The actual costs for the courses depend on the particular one that you choose.
1W.N Hosley, 1999, Senior Encores: A Guide to Fulfillment in the Third Age of Life
2"Silver hair students" increased six times in two years (In Chinese), Wen Wei Pao, 2013-01-21,
http://paper.wenweipo.com/2013/01/21/ED1301210001.htm
Source: King Content Pty Ltd.
Prudential Hong Kong Limited (A member of Prudential plc group)
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