Most Taiwanese expect to retire when they are 60 and feel that they need to start saving for retirement at 37, a survey released yesterday by Citibank Taiwan Ltd (花旗台灣銀行) showed.
Affluent people said that their ideal retirement savings would be NT$25.86 million (US$857,143) on average, while the general public said they need an average of NT$16.35 million, according to the survey of 1,850 Taiwanese aged at least 25.
“The findings indicate that people are aware of the importance of wealth management, but they do not plan early enough,” as evidenced by a lack of retirement savings by both groups, Citibank Taiwan consumer business manager Dennis Hussey told a news conference in Taipei.
The discrepancy reached NT$11.38 million for rich Taiwanese and NT$10.39 million for average people, the survey showed.
This is the second year the local branch of the US banking group partnered with the Chinese-language Business Today weekly to gather information about attitudes toward wealth.
Affluent Taiwanese said they would need to spend NT$48,600 a month to maintain a comfortable life after retirement, while average people put the figure at NT$39,800.
Rich people said that 44.3 percent of their savings would cover daily expenses, followed by travel and recreation (27.3 percent), medical care (24.9 percent), gifts to children (1.4 percent) and charity (1.2 percent), the survey showed.
For average people, daily expenses would account for 52 percent of expenses, followed by medical care (24.1 percent) and travel and entertainment (22.1 percent), but they plan to spend less than 1 percent on gifts for children and charity, it added.
Both groups reported lower ideal savings figures compared with last year, as uncertainty is growing, the survey found.
The respondents also reported a lack of savings necessary to raise a child from birth through college with the inadequacy exceeding NT$4.5 million for both groups, it said.
The survey also found that most Taiwanese are receptive to digital financing tools, with affluent people expressing a higher rate of acceptance.
While Taiwanese are receptive to mobile and online banking, personal wealth management consultations remain the core business, as reliance tops the list of concerns when people choose wealth managers, it showed.
The survey was conducted from May 1 to May 15 and had a margin of error of 2.3 percent.
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