More than half (56 per cent) of people in the world’s 10 fastest growing economies have retirement goals at roughly twice the size of what they’re actually likely to have accumulated by age 60, according to a new report by multinational financial services company Standard Chartered.
In the top 10 fastest growing economies — which include China, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates — many individuals with disposable income that they can either save or invest are likely to fall short of their “wealth aspirations,” defined as the amount they feel they’ll need to comfortably retire.
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Using economic modelling, the report projected what this group is likely to be able to accumulate for retirement. It dubbed the gap between this reality and people’s aspirations as the “wealth expectancy gap.”
Subdividing these so-called wealth creators, the report found that the emerging affluent — those who can afford to spend, save and invest — were the most likely (62 per cent) to fall short of their aspirations. About half (53 per cent) of those defined as affluent — earning significantly above market average — were projected to fall short, followed by 46 per cent of high-net-worth individuals.
“Our study reveals that a higher income is no guarantee of a smaller wealth expectancy gap with those who will be nearer to their wealth aspiration having similar incomes to those who will be further away,” the report said. “However, it is what they do with it that counts. In our view, the extent to which wealth creators spend, save and invest their income is what is bringing them closer to achieving their wealth aspiration.”
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