BOC Life offers insurance plans for Hong Kong clients seeking to retire in mainland cities
Around 88,000 Hongkongers aged 65 or above were living in southern Guangdong province in 2022, 11 per cent more than in 2017
BOC Life has unveiled a plan to offer insurance coverage for retirees in Hong Kong who plan to live in mainland China, saying the city’s silver-hair population represents a growing business opportunity.
The firm, which is a local unit of China’s third-largest banking group Bank of China, will offer discounted policy packages for its existing 150,000-odd customers who intend to take up residency in 18 mainland cities, it said. They include nine cities in southern Guangdong province that are part of the Greater Bay Area, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Dali and Qingdao.
Under its RetireCation programme, policyholders can use the cash value to pay for their stay in properties provided by its business partners, CEO Wilson Tang said. The insurer will also offer advisory on transport arrangement, cultural, medical and other social activities. They may opt to stay for a week or longer, he added.
“Hong Kong has an ageing population and the demand for retirement services is huge,” Tang said at a media briefing on Thursday. “Since the cost of living is very high, many retirees would like to explore living somewhere else at a cheaper cost. This will create new business opportunities in the coming years.”
People aged 65 or more made up about 22 per cent of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million population in 2023, according to the statistics department. Since 1971, life expectancy in Hong Kong have increased to 82.5 years from 67.8 for men, and to 88.1 from 75.3 for women. Some 88,000 Hong Kong residents aged 65 and above were living in Guangdong in 2022, 11 per cent more than in 2017, government data showed.
BOC Life is not alone in tapping this market segment. Ping An Insurance, HSBC Life and Manulife have introduced retirement products and services to capture a slice of the market. Many Hongkongers have crossed the border to stretch their dollars on food, entertainment and housing amid rising living costs.
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For example, Ping An offers home-based senior care services for its policyholders and is building three high-end senior care centres in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Foshan, co-CEO Michael Guo Xiaotao said in August. HSBC Life and Manulife recently offered services to help Hong Kong retirees manage their assets.
