Two women wear face masks as they cross a road in Hong Kong on Feb 4, 2020. (ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)

Around 40 percent of women in Hong Kong are worried that they won’t be able save enough money for retirement, a poll by Fidelity International shows.

The study, announced at a press briefing on Thursday, found that working women in the city hoped to retire at age 62 on average, with younger generations expecting to retire earlier than the elder groups. Participants on average anticipated a budget at HK$28,500 (US$3,673) per month and to fund 20 years in retirement. Hong Kong women in general faced a retirement income shortfall of 67 percent, according to the results. 

Women in Hong Kong took a proactive yet conservative approach in financial planning, with three in five women interested in managing their finances, a survey by Fidelity International showed

A previous Fidelity survey showed that 70 percent of women in Hong Kong thought that they were not on track to meet their retirement goals, compared to that of 62 percent among Hong Kong men.

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Despite these concerns, women in Hong Kong took a proactive yet conservative approach in financial planning, with three in five women interested in managing their finances, the survey showed.

“Many women in Hong Kong say they feel less comfortable with many of the principles behind investing than men and are far more likely to take a cautious approach to managing their savings and investments,” said Charlotte Chan, head of distribution, Hong Kong workplace and personal investing at Fidelity International.

More than a third of respondents focused on managing loss as well as making potential gains, results show.

The survey also underlines the heavy blows dealt by the pandemic to working women in Hong Kong as more than 40 percent lost jobs or saw their income shrink as the coronavirus ravaged economies and workplaces. More than a third of women saw their personal income shrink and 9 percent became unemployed, the survey shows.

“Despite the drop in personal and household income, we are glad to see that 6 percent of women have taken a long term approach and have contributed about the same level to their pension, while there are also 15 percent of respondents who have increased their contributions,” Chan said.

READ MORE: Hong Kong residents' income down 7.5%

The Global Women and Money Study research was conducted Jan 7-12 among 12,038 men and women in six markets - UK, Germany, Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan. In Hong Kong, 2,007 adults aged 18 or above with 1,097 women and 909 men participated in the survey. The research was conducted by Opinium research for Fidelity International.