The HSBC Group has just concluded the second part of a study, in which 21,000 people and 6,000 employers in 20 countries took part, into global attitudes towards ageing, retirement and increased longevity.

The latest research by the HSBC Group produced 11 key findings. These included that people want to pay for their retirement by means of government-enforced additional savings rather than by paying higher taxes or taking lower pensions, that they no longer believe that governments alone will provide for them in old age and that so long as they are healthy and able, that they should be active in their retirement rather than just resting.

Other conclusions were that people overwhelmingly reject mandatory retirement on the grounds of age. As they age, people also increasingly demand flexible working practices and view family, friends and fitness as more important than money for a happy old age. Interestingly, the aspirations for retirement of “trendsetters” in the transitional economies of Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, are beginning to converge with those in more advanced economies.

From the employers point of view, the general feeling was that employees should be able to work to any age as long as they are capable of doing a good job. Employers reported that older workers are just as productive as younger workers.

In all regions of the world, the research shows, too little is being done to retain the skills and experience of older workers and that few employers, large or small, are really prepared for the coming global skills shortage that population ageing will cause.

“Ageing and longevity are issues that affect every country. In Malta, too, there has been a long-running debate on how the state and the economy are going to cope with an increasingly ageing population”, said HSBC Bank Malta CEO Shaun Wallis.

“HSBC, which already provides pensions to millions of customers and in many countries around the world where it operates, takes this issue seriously and commissioned this study as part of a series of initiatives. The results provide us all – bankers, governments, employers and individuals – with knowledge that can help move the debate forward,” he said.

The full text of the latest findings is available from the new retirement planning section of the bank’s website www.hsbc.com.mt