Chinese increasingly put health, family above professional success after pandemic, survey shows
- Among 13 Asian markets, including Hong Kong, most people say the way they define success has changed because of Covid-19
- But a rising emphasis on extending longevity puts more pressure on ageing societies such as China, and steps need to be taken now to curb long-term systemic risks
Two-thirds of China’s 1.4 billion residents believe they will be healthy enough to live to at least 80 years old, according to a new survey that reflects how health and longevity have become greater priorities in the wake of the pandemic.
However, if those expectations pan out, it could pose a greater threat to China’s worsening demographic crisis while further straining the pension system, and steps need to be taken now to stem the risks, according to the findings released on Wednesday by insurance company Prudential.
In the firm’s survey of 5,000 residents from 13 Asian markets, China placed in the top three in terms of confidence in healthy longevity, and Asians in general are doing more to prioritise family and health.
Across all of the studied markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, India and most Southeast Asian countries, seven out of 10 people said that how they define success in life has changed because of Covid-19.
While professional success would have been their major aspiration five years ago, it has now been replaced by spending more time with family, followed by maintaining emotional and mental health, the findings suggest.
Those from mainland China, where the official average life expectancy stood at 77.93 last year, also said they were happier with their lives than did people from most other regions.
Nearly three-quarters of mainlanders were satisfied with their lives, compared with the overall 70 per cent and following just Indonesia and India, the study found.
However, the report warned, “while the survey responses may suggest resilience among respondents in Asia, some experts believe there is cause for concern about people’s ability to finance older age with rising lifespans, and their readiness to diligently look after their health, among other things.”
Only half of all the respondents said they were happy with the state of their financial health, with just one-third regularly making contributions to a retirement fund.
Governments should therefore boost support in preparing for longevity as well as lifelong learning and well-being, it urged.
“Citizens should be encouraged to start saving early for retirement. They should be encouraged to keep money in pension funds longer, given the increase in life expectancy and later retirement ages,” it said.
China is among the world’s most rapidly ageing economies. An estimated 400 million people will be aged 60 and older by 2035, accounting for more than 30 per cent of the population, which would make it “a severely old society”, the National Health Commission said in September.
China’s social security system, which includes pensions, medical insurance and unemployment insurance, has been a growing concern as it has seen a rising deficit since 2013 and has been propped up by government subsidies, according to official data.
Zhou Xiaochuan, former governor of China’s central bank, warned at a forum in February that, due to China’s rapidly ageing population, “there will easily be a crack in the pension pool”.
He said the state pension pool totalled several trillion yuan, representing less than 10 per cent of China’s gross domestic product (GDP), which is far below the 50 to 100 per cent of GDP in “most countries”.
