Financing retirement needs by extracting housing equity

Singapore

LONGEVITY poses risks to cities. Panellists at a Wednesday discussion focused on life-cycle financing for ageing populations agreed that monetising housing may be the best way to finance retirement needs in Asia.

They also believe that governments should step in to take on the tail risks, such as when seniors outlive the leases of their homes.

At the discussion at the World Cities Summit, Man Cho, a professor at the Korea Development Institute and The KDI School, cited studies that show the vastly different composition of household wealth between South Koreans and Americans.

Housing residence and other real estate (for example, rental homes and commercial properties) make up 46 per cent and 35 per cent respectively of Koreans' household wealth, while annui…