Due to rising living costs, expensive healthcare, and the risk of unexpected job losses, middle-class Asians, including Filipinos, are worried and unprepared for retirement.

“Most of Asia’s middle class feel financially anxious and underprepared for retirement, as rising living costs and growing family responsibilities reshape financial priorities across generations,” insurer FWD Group Holdings Ltd. wrote in a Feb. 3 report.

These anxieties emerged from FWD’s pan-Asian survey of 9,000 middle-class consumers across 10 markets: the Philippines, Cambodia, Hong Kong special administrative region (SAR), Indonesia, Japan, Macau SAR, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Nearly three-fourths of surveyed middle-class consumers feel anxious about their overall financial well-being, mainly due to rising daily living costs (71 percent), high healthcare expenses (43 percent), and the risk of job loss or income reduction (37 percent).

As a result, middle-class individuals are shifting toward short-term planning, such as building a basic safety net for their families (44 percent) and pursuing financial independence (more than a third).

Generation Y carries the “sandwich generation” burden, as most support both their parents and their children, leaving many stretched by multiple obligations.

Generation X faces mounting retirement concerns, with many worried that their savings will not keep pace with inflation and prioritizing guaranteed lifetime income.

Generation Z anticipates tougher financial conditions ahead, driven by rising daily expenses and the perception that insurance products are unaffordable.

“It’s clear that there is a shared sense of financial vulnerability across generations of the middle class in Asia,” FWD Group Chief Distribution and Proposition Officer Lee Yen Ho said, adding that building financial resilience to protect immediate family members and convert savings into sustainable income will become increasingly important.

“Changing the way people feel about insurance has an important role to play. Insurance provides protection in difficult times, but it can also help build resilience, secure income for retirement, and give people the confidence they need to celebrate living,” Ho said.