Almost half, or 44% of Hong Kong employers see an increased business need to retain older employees in the workforce and expect this to be a key focus over the next five years, according to research from professional services firm Aon.

Among employers that have increased or are considering to increase the retirement age, the majority, or 56%, cited the need to retain employees’ experience in their Hong Kong workforce and are monitoring public sector retirement age trends.

The survey also found 34% of employers are providing employees with additional support around retirement options and financial wellbeing. Furthermore, 17% of employers demonstrated their appreciation to retiring employees by providing an ex gratia “golden handshake,” which can include a cash bonus, gold, gift coupons and celebratory meals.

Ashley Palmer, regional managing partner and head of Wealth Solutions, Asia Pacific at Aon, said, “Aon’s study finds Hong Kong is in the midst of a talent crunch, with the reported size of the labour force having dropped to the lowest level in a decade given net emigration and continuing restrictions in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“Organisations need to be more proactive in retaining and engaging the talent they already have,” Palmer added. “Investing in specifically designed employee benefits with flexible retirement options and financial wellbeing support demonstrate that organisations value more experienced talent. Employers with an effective older workforce strategy are able to drive agile succession planning, retain key skills, and provide a soft-exit through flexible retirement options. These are all critical to further accelerating talent pipelines and organisational people objectives, such as to increase diversity and gender representation in leadership roles.”

Stella Ho, head of Wealth Solutions, Hong Kong at Aon, said, “The results of the study highlight that employers need to increase focus on communication and ensure sufficient working/retirement flexibilities within competitive employee benefit and retirement practices to optimise their older talent. Business leaders typically underestimate employees’ need for wellbeing support, especially for retirement and financial wellbeing.”