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EconomyChina Economy

China’s wealthy swap real estate for insurance, gold as retirement looms

Declining returns on property are prompting China’s affluent to diversify their investments, including high-value insurance policies and gold

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According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s new home prices in 70 cities fell by 2.2 percent year-on-year in September 2025, easing from a 2.5 percent decline in the previous month. Photo: EPA
He Huifengin Guangdong
Since 2020, Li Jiang, a veteran manufacturing entrepreneur from Guangdong, has been selling off his properties one by one – a move that once puzzled many of his friends. For decades, real estate had been the ultimate “anchor” for retirement planning and wealth transfer among China’s high-net-worth families.
At his peak, Li concentrated much of his wealth in property, owning seven assets ranging from CBD apartments to high-end suburban villas. These were intended partly for retirement and partly to pass his wealth along to the next generation.
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Now, Li retains only two: one for his own use and another for his son when he returns from his studies overseas.

“Property investments feel more like an uncertainty or burden. One is good enough for a comfortable retirement,” said Li, currently in his 60s. He has allocated a portion of his wealth into high-value life insurance and premium medical insurance, and asked his son to invest in some trusts focusing on emerging industries.
Li’s viewpoint appears to be shared by many of China’s high-net-worth individuals (HNWI). Surveys conducted by the Hurun Research Institute show China’s most affluent are quietly reshaping their retirement and investment strategies, systematically reducing their holdings in property while increasing their allocations to insurance, gold and overseas assets.

This shift, a reflection of heightened concerns over liquidity and cash flow stability, is being compounded by declining real estate returns and China’s rapidly ageing population. As this influential group modifies its portfolio, it is likely to have an effect on broader patterns in the country's retirement and investment markets.

According to a report on the retirement strategy of Chinese HNWIs released by Hurun last week, China’s population aged 60 and above has surpassed 300 million, with around 55,000 retiring daily, while the number of high-net-worth households is dropping.

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By 2025, the number of households with net assets over 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) fell 0.8 per cent year-on-year to 2.066 million, while ultra-high-net-worth households dropped 1.7 per cent to 130,000, according to the report. Such a shrinking asset base heightens this group’s sensitivity to future cash flow stability and risk exposure.

Historically, Chinese HNWIs’ wealth accumulation relied on property appreciation and corporate dividends. Yet, in the year ahead, they plan to reduce holdings in investment properties and bank wealth management products, while increasing allocations to insurance, gold and stocks, the report said.

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