The Trend of “Northward Retirement” from Hong Kong, China and Its Implications for Building a Diversified Retirement Welfare System in Mainland China
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Keywords
northward retirement, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, population aging, diversified elderly care welfare system, cross-border elderly care
Abstract
Hong Kong, China, ranks among the world's regions with the highest life expectancy, yet faces severe challenges posed by an aging society. Local pressures—including strained healthcare resources, limited per capita land area, and high elderly care costs—pose significant obstacles to securing adequate retirement provisions for its senior population. In recent years, “northward retirement” has emerged as a new option for some Hong Kong seniors, with this cross-border migration trend growing increasingly pronounced. This paper aims to systematically analyze the driving factors, current status, and trends of Hong Kong's “northward retirement” phenomenon, along with its implications for China's mainland in building a diversified elderly care welfare system. This study argues that the “northward retirement” trend reveals the limitations of Hong Kong's model of relying solely on local resources for elderly care. Consequently, it highlights the importance and necessity of establishing a “diversified elderly care welfare system” that integrates local, cross-border, governmental, market, and social forces. This research offers new perspectives and policy insights for mainland China in addressing the increasingly urgent challenges of aging, and also provides valuable reference for the social and livelihood integration within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
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