The first wave of Hong Kong's ageing baby boomers is reaching the potentially rocky shores of retirement, where many now wrestle with adjusting to life beyond work. Philanthropist and former air courier tycoon Chung Po-yang ('Po Chung'), 65, who retired from the corporate world in 2001, is determined to help them discover new meaning and purpose.
'When you retire you say, 'Great, I just got off the train. I've got 30 more years to live. Now is the time to drink all the good wine I've collected, eat all the good food, go to see all the places I've always wanted to see',' said Mr Chung, who remains chairman emeritus of DHL Express (HK), one of the world's largest air courier firms.
'But then 18 months later you say, 'Is this all there is to life?' At about 55 to 60 you have already been there and done that, so you ask the question, 'What's next? Now that I can be anything I want to be, what do I want to be?' Sound familiar?'
Mr Chung speaks of 'rewiring' instead of 'retiring'. Over the past two years, he has developed a 'life design and management' seminar he personally conducts for small groups of presidents and chief executive officers at the threshold of retirement. Subtitled 'the science of life management and the art of living', the seminar is about 'moving from success to significance'.
Participants include friends and peers who have done so well in business they never need to work for money again. According to the 2007 Asia-Pacific Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, Hong Kong has more than 31,300 individuals between 56 and 70 years old with net financial assets of US$1 million or more, including 'ultra-wealthy' individuals with US$30 million or more.
Mr Chung is equally concerned about what happens to baby boomers further down the wealth pyramid as they approach retirement. There are 767,000 people aged 55 to 64 in Hong Kong, or 11 per cent of the population, according to Census and Statistics Department estimates. In about 12 years, that is projected to peak at about 1.25 million (16.2 per cent) as society ages.