The Manulife Asia Care Survey 2023 has just been released, showing that more than half of Vietnamese respondents expect their personal income to improve this year with an average increase of 17%. This will help them achieve their financial goals, where the primary goals are retirement savings (40%) and savings for medical and healthcare expenses (37%). Other priorities of Vietnamese people are educating their children (32%) and saving to buy a new house (30%).
The main tools for achieving personal financial goals and having retirement savings are cash (80%), inheritances and family support (42%), personal health insurance and critical illness insurance (37%) – in line with the regional average.
At the same time, Vietnamese consider the main barriers to achieving their goals as economic recession (62%), inflation (60%) and declining health (51%). In addition, loss of income (48%) and high medical costs (38%) are also other significant concerns.
The survey also explored other barriers, including access to health care and medical support. Nearly all respondents shared concerns about the ability to manage health (98%), with the biggest concern being the high cost of medical treatment (43%). Other concerns include the cost of medical consultations being out of reach (31%), or the risk of loss of income or job due to illness (31%).
Nearly two-thirds said they expect to meet their retirement savings goals in the next 10 years. However, this view is somewhat optimistic as only 12% of those surveyed said they had a retirement plan, compared with the region's average of 32%.
