Around 85% of Hong Kong residents intend to pass on their financial assets or wealth to the next generation, but only 10% have fully developed legacy plans and have discussed them with their heirs. A Sun Life study titled Passing the Torch: When Legacy Means More Than Money found that although the proportion of respondents with no legacy plan fell from 49% in 2025 to 29% in 2026, 45% still have only partially developed arrangements.
Among respondents concerned about successfully transferring their wealth, 50% cited the next generation's preparedness and market volatility as their main concerns, while 46% pointed to potential changes in laws, regulations and tax policies. Other concerns included beneficiaries making poor investment decisions (34%), overspending (32%) and lacking confidence in managing inherited wealth (27%). Sun Life Hong Kong Limited deputy chief executive officer, life and health, Dr Christine Yeung, said early planning around asset allocation, protection and family communication was increasingly important as wealth and legacy needs became more diverse.
The readiness gap was particularly evident among family businesses, with 78% of respondents intending to pass on wealth concerned that it might not endure to the next generation, compared with 63% of those from non-family businesses. Although 88% of family-business respondents said the next generation was willing to take over, only 33% had fully developed succession plans. Overall, 83% of family-business respondents had a succession plan, highlighting the gap between willingness to transfer ownership and practical preparations for succession.
The survey also found that 67% of Millennials and 65% of Gen Z respondents believed their wealth could have a lasting multigenerational impact, compared with 51% of Baby Boomers. Meanwhile, 67% of respondents said older generations had communicated at least some aspects of their legacy plans, primarily through family meetings (42%) and individual conversations (40%). Communication through financial advisers increased from 11% in 2025 to 39% in 2026, while 63% of high-net-worth respondents had proactively sought professional advice, compared with 53% of their non-high-net-worth counterparts.