Filipinos least prepared for retirement, study shows

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos start thinking about retirement early but still end up the least prepared when they actually reach old age, prompting most to seek work past retirement, according to a global retirement study conducted by Paris-based AXA.

The AXA Retirement Scope covering 26 countries, which included the Philippines for the first time, also showed that Filipinos have been relying too much on government pension for old-age income.

AXA’s 4th annual global research looks at the retirement beliefs, practices, and attitudes of retirees and those who are still currently working. The Philippine survey was conducted in key cities across the country, with a total of 600 respondents equally divided into two groups: those aged 25-49 and still currently working; and retirees aged 50-75.

In a press briefing on the survey results on Tuesday, AXA Philippines reported that over 95 percent of total respondents believed that the government should be the primary source of retirement, much higher than the 80 percent global average.

Eighty percent thought their employers should also provide for their retirement needs, likewise much higher compared to the global average of around 60 percent. Only 50 percent believed in preparing for their retirement themselves, a mindset much different elsewhere in the world where an average of 70 percent believed in individual retirement planning.

“This is one of the most alarming findings in the AXA Retirement Scope,” said AXA Philippines Andrew Alcid.

“We have to help the average Filipino take personal control of their retirement future. We should realize that planning for a good tomorrow, a golden retirement, begins today,” he stressed.

The research also showed that only 34 percent of Filipinos secured their retirement income from individual pension plans.

Among those still working, only 41 percent have been planning for retirement, one of the lowest rates in the world. Moreover, 83 percent of working Filipinos surveyed intended to work into their retirement years, much higher than the global average of 54 percent, and the highest among all 26 countries surveyed.

Similarly, Filipinos rank highest in terms of percentage of actual retirees who hold a paid job with 38 percent, as opposed to the 17 percent global survey average.

Dr. Edna Franco, an anthropologist from the Ateneo de Manila University, said Filipinos’ tendency to seek work past retirement age might not be due to financial considerations or need.

“Work is associated with being responsible so it’s possible that loss of work will be associated with loss of identity and loss of confidence,” Franco said.

But she added that providing for the family has always been part of the Filipino culture.

Still, Franco said a new generation of Filipinos concerned with their own welfare has been emerging. She said this generation would not want to be a burden to their kin in their old age.

But while Filipinos would most likely work well past their retirement age than others, the AXA study indicated that they thought of retirement earlier than most. The average Filipino thinks about retirement at the age of 28 years old, relatively young compared to 33 years old in the global average.

“In summary, what the AXA Retirement Scope shows is that Filipinos are generally not ready for retirement,” Alcid said.

“They think about retirement early in life but do not necessarily have the drive or the means to prepare for it. Hence, Filipinos end up working late in life as a means to fend for themselves,” Alcid said.

Filipinos ranked lower than most Asians in perceiving that their lives during retirement were or would be better than those of their parents. But the ranking improved when they assessed their children’s retirement in comparison to theirs.

The survey also showed that adult children also thought of various ways of support for their parents. However, emotional support took priority over material and financial support among most Filipinos.

About 76 percent of those still working thought they should support their parents financially while 93 percent thought of support by material means other than financial. –Doris Dumlao, The Philippine Daily Inquirer