KUALA LUMPUR: Men are taking the lead in decision-making across most aspects of financial planning, according to a HSBC report.
The report on The Future of Retirement: Why Family Matters said 68% of Asian men and 65% of men worldwide said they made all or most of the financial decisions in the household, compared with 58% and 53% of women in Asia and globally, respectively.
HSBC said in a statement that the only exception in Asia was China, where 63% of women claimed they made all or most of the financial decisions, compared with 58% of men.
HSBC said the report was done by Cicero Consulting polling over 17,000 people in 17 countries, with over 7,300 from Asia. The idea was to explore changing attitudes towards retirement and financial planning.
In terms of retirement planning, the report said only 29% of Asian women on average were most likely to take sole responsibility, compared with 37% of men; India (21% women versus 43% of men), Singapore (21% versus 38%), Malaysia (27% versus 33%) and Hong Kong (28% versus 38%).
HSBC group general manager and regional director for retail banking and wealth management, Asia-Pacific, Louisa Cheang, said the gender divide in saving for retirement persisted in Asia, leaving women potentially exposed to financial hardship in later life.
Across Asia, 66% of respondents on average said they had a financial plan in place, yet despite these plans, there appeared to be significant gaps in the financial planning throughout adult life. For example, six in 10 Hong Kong respondents aged 30-39 years old did not have short-term savings and only 19% of Taiwanese aged 40-49 were protecting their assets.
The report also revealed that 48% and 47% of parents in Malaysia and Hong Kong, respectively, had no life insurance. – Bernama