Survey: Nearly 70% of Hong Kong people lack confidence in their ideal retirement, and insufficient planning is mainly due to the difficulty of relying on AI alone to improve confidence

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the wealth management and fund platform Endowus (Endowus) released the “Endowus Smart Security Investment Wealth Insight Report 2026”. The survey showed that the retirement problems faced by Hong Kong people were due to insufficient planning, not due to lack of information. 68% of respondents lack confidence or are in the “middle class” of whether they can achieve their ideal retirement, even though 63% have invested in retirement outside of MPF (MPF).

The survey interviewed 500 Hong Kong residents to understand their approach to retirement planning, AI tools and financial advice, and how to build confidence in achieving long-term retirement goals.

Nearly 80% of Hong Kong people think a stable retirement is important, and only 32% are confident that they will achieve their desired goals

According to the survey, 79% of Hong Kong respondents believe that a stable retirement is very or extremely important. However, only 30% of people are confident that they are moving towards their goals. The remaining 68% can be divided into two groups: 40% are “hesitant middle class” with neither confidence nor lack confidence, while another 28% lack confidence.

The proportion of people who are confident they are moving towards an ideal retirement also declines with age. Confidence was highest in the 25-34 age group, at 39%; however, confidence gradually declined with age, with only 28% of people aged 55 or above. This trend reveals a stark reality in Hong Kong society. The closer people are to retirement age, the more they feel that they are unprepared.

6 adults doubt MPF isn't enough to support retirement

MPF is generally viewed as the foundation for retirement protection rather than a complete retirement plan. Sixty percent of respondents doubt that MPF alone can fully support their retirement; only 12% think it's enough. Although 63% of respondents have invested in retirement in addition to mandatory contributions, this concern persists.

For respondents not currently investing outside of MPF, the main barriers include fear of loss (28%), lack of time to research or manage investments (28%), followed by insufficient financial knowledge (24%) and insufficient usable income (22%). The distribution of responses from interviewees showed that the confidence gap was not due to a single obstacle, but was caused by a combination of ability, prudence, and lack of systematic financial management guidelines.

One-third use of AI tools to assist in financial management is mainly used for information processing

In Hong Kong, AI has become an integral part of financial decisions. According to the survey, nearly one-third of respondents (32%) used AI tools to help make financial decisions; among young adults between the ages of 25 and 34, the proportion rose to 45%.

According to the survey, although AI applications are becoming increasingly popular, they are currently mainly used for information processing rather than for influencing personal investment decisions in retirement protection. Among AI users (n=161), 60% use AI to obtain market news, 55% to compare products, 43% to learn financial knowledge, and only 22% for retirement planning.

Trust levels are also showing the same trend. Among AI users, 51% “very” or “completely” trust AI for learning knowledge, and 50% trust AI for product comparison; however, the proportion using AI as personalized recommendations dropped to 34%, and only 31% for retirement planning.

Furthermore, the survey suggests that having more information is not the same as boosting confidence. When making financial decisions, respondents referred to an average of 2.2 sources of information; confident people used an average of 2.6 sources; “hesitant middle class” and those lacking confidence referred to 2.1 sources respectively. This discrepancy shows that access to information alone does not eliminate uncertainty about retirement planning.

Having a clear plan can increase confidence to achieve an ideal retirement

In terms of planning behavior, the differences among respondents were even more pronounced. Of those who have clear plans and are proactive, 61% are confident they are steadily moving towards their retirement goals; only 12% of those who have never started planning have the same confidence.

Using AI and real financial advisors at the same time can increase confidence in retirement planning

Investors who use AI and real financial advisors at the same time are most confident in their retirement plans. Respondents who used the hybrid model had the highest level of confidence, reaching 46%; those who only used real financial advisors were 36%, those who only used AI were 31%, and only 17% of those who did not use either. In other words, hybrid mode users are almost three times as confident as those who only planner on their own.

When asked what would boost their confidence the most, respondents most wanted clear direction: know how much savings they need (38%), estimated retirement forecasts (31%), lower fees (31%), and “one-stop integration of all finances” (30%). Another 28% wanted someone to discuss their retirement plans with them, reflecting that continuous follow-up and supervision from professionals is more important than purely informational support methods.

Li Zhen, Chairman of Endowus Smart Security Investment and Group Chief Investment Director, said that what investors need is not more noise, but a set of personalized recommendations that are easy to grasp and implement, as well as suitable retirement plans, so that they can handle market fluctuations and ups and downs in life. The real difference is whether investors just have more information or are actually ready to retire. The widening gap in retirement confidence is not due to lack of motivation, but to a lack of clear direction.