What Retired People Regret Most

Many ostensibly comfortable retired people regret failing to save up more money and keep physically in shape so they can enjoy their twilight years to the full, a straw poll suggests.

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The Samsung Life Insurance asked 93 retirees what they regret most.

Perhaps predictably since Samsung Life is an insurance company, the answers suggest retired people are sorry if they failed to put more money into pension packages.

Among the most frequently ticked answers were "I failed to save enough money for retirement" and "I have no lifelong hobby", each by about a dozen respondents.

A roughly equal number regretted not keeping their physical strength up.

Others regret not traveling enough or having no skills they could use to earn some pocket money in retirement.

Still others were sorry they did not spend enough time talking to their children or spouses, or failing to bring up their children as socially responsible people.

Many said there were a lot of expenses they had not factored into their retirement plans, such as gifts for children and family, medical expenses, and housing costs.

Many of the respondents were highly educated middle-class people, most with bachelor or higher degrees and spending more than W4 million (US$1=W1,097) per month on living costs.