A third of older workers fear they will never be able to retire: HSBC survey

9 out of 10 say they will struggle financially upon retirement.

Singapore is one of the toughest countries in the world to retire due to financial pressures, according to HSBC’s latest Future of Retirement report.

The report showed that one out of three pre-retirees—or workers aged 45 and older—believe that they will never be able to retire fully, nearly double the global average of 18%.

Not having enough savings was cited by 68% of respondents as the top reason for the inability to retire, higher than the global average of 64%. Meanwhile, 47% said that they have dependents who rely on them, higher than the global average of 32%. Debt was cited by 26% of respondents as their primary reason for being unable to retire, compared with the global average of 22%.

Meanwhile, 68% of pre-retirees would like to retire within the next five years. However, 48% say they are unable to do so, compared to the global average of 38%. This is because 90% say they would struggle financially—compared to the global average of 81%—because they have not saved enough, are in debt or have family financially dependent on them.