Indians are big on savings – they probably save more than any other country in the world. This has put Indians (42% of them) amongst the ones who are very well prepared for their retirement.
These are the findings of recently released report by HSBC Insurance – Future of Retirement – which put across many interesting findings about how well prepared people are for their retirement.
Contents
Retirement Preparedness
Globally, almost 87% feel that they are not well prepared for their retirement, while only 58% Indians are not satisfied with their retirement savings. Conversely, South Koreans (98% ) are the highest.
Percentage of people NOT prepared for their retirement
What are the motives for savings?
Although, Indians are big on savings, do you know what they save on most? yes, you got it right – Children.
Most of the Indians (35%) save their money for their Children, while only 12% of all savings go in the retirement kitty.
Saving for Retirement Vs Saving for their Children
While Japanese (56%) and South Koreans (45%) save for their retirements, China (41%) and India (35%) save for their Children. It is interesting to note that all the developed economies save more for their retirement rather than for their children. While Emerging Economies, like China, India, Mexico, Brazil & Turkey save for their Children more than they do for retirement.
Access to Financial Guidance
One of the surprising findings was that close to 87% of Indians have access to financial guidance, which is maximum amongst all the countries surveyed. The survey points out that only 13% of all Indians have not accessed any financial guidance.
People who have accessed NO financial guidance
Upon reading further, here why the number is so high when it comes to India:
In India, people see their employer as a useful channel for financial information. It is notable that people in both these countries have an appetite for learning about finances through all channels – which is not widely shared in other countries. This helps to explain why the education gap is lower. In China, it stands at half the global average. In India, the gap falls to just one-third of the average.
How long the Downturn will last?
Again, when it comes to optimism about Economy, Indians are in forefront. Indians (59%) feel that this downturn will last less than 12 months, while only 11% feel that it will stretch for more than 2 years. While on the other hand Japanese (55%) are most under confident about the economy picking up anytime soon.
Downturn perception
There are many more interesting highlights and analysis in the 65 page report released by HSBC. You can download it for further reading from here.