(Yicai) Aug. 5 -- The number of senior citizens in Hong Kong who are choosing to retire in neighboring Guangdong province on the Chinese mainland has surged 40.5 percent in the past 10 years, as the two regions' retirement services continue to improve and become more interconnected.

Last year, nearly 100,000 Hong Kong residents aged 65 and above opted to head north to spend their retirement years in Guangdong province, according to Hong Kong government data. This accounts for about 6 percent of the special administrative region’s elderly population.

The lower cost of living, more spacious housing and relatively affordable property prices are the main reasons drawing Hong Kong senior citizens north, said Shi Cheng, an academic at Lingnan University’s Institute of Policy Studies in Hong Kong. Many of them have even said that they are looking to fully integrate and put down roots in the mainland.

To support this shift, the Hong Kong government has rolled out many policies to encourage elderly residents to retire on the mainland. These include purchasing beds in old-age homes on the mainland, so that senior citizens on the waiting list for care facilities in Hong Kong can move in. Guangdong province also offers financial aid to eligible Hong Kong seniors who choose to relocate there.

This setup is very appealing to the elderly, said Felix Lee, co-chief executive officer of the Greater Bay Area Healthcare Group Hong Kong. They do not have to wait in line, they are eligible for subsidies, and it helps ease pressure on Hong Kong’s elderly care system while shortening medical wait times.

Hong Kong’s Department of Health said in May that it plans to link arms with 12 pilot medical facilities across nine cities on the mainland to make it easier for Hong Kong seniors to access outpatient care. Senior citizens in Hong Kong can have their expenses reimbursed through the mainland's public health insurance system or they can purchase private insurance. On top of that, they can use their annual HKD2,000 (USD255) "Elderly Health Care Voucher" to pay for outpatient fees at selected hospitals.

This silver-haired migration trend is also attracting more retirement institutions to set up old-age homes in the Greater Bay Area. Companies like China Pacific Insurance Group and China Taiping Insurance Group are offering direct payment options for insurance policies, to allow policy holders to gain admission to retirement communities through point-based systems.

Taikang Medical Investment is applying for a life insurance license in Hong Kong and plans to open a local .subsidiary later this year, said Ou Lei, general manager at the Beijing-based firm’s healthcare service center, told Yicai

The next wave of retirees moving north will likely be financially stable but not ultra-wealthy seniors, and those who are not fully covered by private insurance, Lee said.

Even if it is just a small market, this presents a great opportunity for financial institutions in Hong Kong and Macau to expand into the mainland, said Zheng Hansi, an insurance broker with China Life Insurance.

Editor: Kim Taylor