Manulife Hong Kong launches ManuDelight Annuity Plan

For Immediate Release

Hong Kong — Manulife Hong Kong has launched ManuDelight Annuity Plan, an innovative solution for young and middle-aged people who want guaranteed retirement income in the future but also flexibility and extra income protection in case their circumstances change.

ManuDelight’s first-in-market feature gives customers both guaranteed income and flexible options, including the ability to enjoy retirement earlier or later than planned. Customers make contributions to the plan during their working lives and then receive regular income upon retirement. 

Based on their individual retirement goals, people can choose: 

• How long to pay premiums
• How much retirement income to receive each month
• When to start receiving retirement income and until when
• Whether to receive income for a set period or until their death 

Recognizing that people’s needs may change, ManuDelight gives policyholders the flexibility to change when they start receiving retirement income at any time before their income period starts, as long as the policy has been paid up. Monthly income will then be re-calculated based on the new income start age. 

“Manulife developed ManuDelight after seeing a growing need for a simple and flexible annuity product specifically designed for young and middle-aged pre-retirees in Hong Kong,” said Wilton Kee, Chief Product Officer for Individual Financial Products at Manulife Hong Kong.

“It is ideal for those who want to begin saving in their prime to ensure they will have a stable retirement income and who also recognize that their circumstances may change at different life stages. Flexibility is important, as many customers are uncertain about their actual retirement needs. ManuDelight delivers this flexibility and is a carefully designed addition to Manulife’s comprehensive annuity products suite.”

In addition to a guaranteed income stream and flexible options, ManuDelight also offers customers:

• Extra income protection against severe stroke, kidney failure or Parkinson’s disease. If customers are diagnosed with one of these serious conditions, ManuDelight will provide extra financial support with up to twice the guaranteed monthly income for the duration of their income period 
• Non-guaranteed monthly income funded by their terminal bonus, which mainly depends on the performance of equity investments
• The option to realize up to 50% of the terminal bonus

According to a recent survey by Manulife Hong Kong of 471 pre-retirees aged 30 to 54, people start saving for retirement at 41 years old on average and expect to retire by 61. They anticipate post-retirement living expenses of around HK$13,000 per month. 

The survey showed that, with only 20 years of savings to rely on, people across different age groups are most concerned about health deterioration (64%), their ability to pay for medical expenses (60%) and maintaining their current standard of living (47%) in retirement. 

More worryingly, only 49% of respondents have started saving for retirement, allocating an average of 24% of their monthly income for this purpose.

Asked about their preferences for annuity products, 75% of respondents aged 50 to 54 want to start receiving income at age 65, while 60% of those aged 30 to 49 want to start at age 55. 

“As a customer-centric insurer, we created ManuDelight to cater to people’s needs for annuity incomes and address what matters most to them,” Kee said. “At Manulife, we believe in the three pillars of retirement planning – build wealth, protect wealth and enjoy wealth. As a way to make lives better and successfully navigate retirement life, ManuDelight is a simple and straightforward step that people can take to start accumulating a retirement fund that ensures a regular income stream with flexible options and extra income protection.”

Manulife offers a range of savings and retirement solutions catering to different needs at different life stages. La Vie and ManuPrestige are for younger savers, while targeted annuity products such as ManuDelight are aimed at younger pre-retirees. MyChoice is for those closer to retirement and ManuJoy is for those in retirement. 

For more details about Manulife’s diversified savings and retirement solutions, please visit here. More details of ManuDelight and its product features including terminal bonus can be found here.