[Financial planning] Does legacy solely refer to passing wealth to children? If there are no children, how should the inheritance of wealth be arranged?
Finance2025-12-11
8 Mins Read
Have you ever considered the ultimate purpose of the wealth you've accumulated through a lifetime of hard work? Is it to achieve your ideal lifestyle, or simply to watch the numbers in your bank account grow, ensuring this legacy continues according to your wishes?
The traditional notions of ‘to bring up children for the purpose of being looked after in old age’ and ‘passing wealth to children’ are facing challenges in modern society. According to data from a local survey*, 71.9% of respondents said they would rather not have children, while only 28.1% said they would. Increasingly, people are choosing childlessness, marrying later, or remaining single, focusing instead on achieving personal goals and living freely. In this context, a core question emerges: Without children, does financial planning lose its meaning? Or is it time to step outside the traditional framework and redefine what 'legacy' means?
In fact, precisely because there is no predetermined heir, financial planning becomes even more critical. It is no longer just for the next generation, but returns focus to the 'self’—ensuring your quality of life in retirement and, according to your personal wishes, inheriting your wealth to your beloved partner, family, friends, or even giving back to society.
Redefining legacy: The true meaning behind wealth
For many, the word ‘legacy’ instinctively brings to mind inheriting wealth for children. However, the recipients of a legacy can also be other people or causes you cherish, support, and wish to continue assisting, such as:
- Your beloved partner: Ensuring your other half can maintain their standard of living after you are gone.
- Grateful thanks to family and friends: Repaying the support of siblings, nieces, nephews, or close friends who have been there for you along the way.
- Giving back to society: Donating wealth to a charity you believe in, allowing compassion to endure and creating greater social value.
The core of modern financial planning is precisely ‘financial autonomy’ and ‘testamentary freedom’ — enabling you to decide the ultimate destination of your wealth yourself, rather than being constrained by traditional notions or legal default provisions.
Building a future without worry: Four key considerations for financial planning
As the population gradually ages and the social landscape continues to evolve, establishing a robust financial blueprint in advance has become an essential task—whether or not you plan to have children.
1. Sustainable cash flow: Creating a never-ending retirement income stream
Relying solely on savings during retirement is highly risky. With life expectancy continually increasing, retirement lasting twenty to thirty years has become the norm. You need to build a system that can generate ongoing passive income, ensuring a steady flow of funds. This system should not only be stable but also possess growth potential to counteract inflation and remain flexible enough to adapt to changing needs at different stages of life.
2. Solid healthcare support: Safeguarding against health risks associated with longevity
Longer life expectancy comes with higher medical costs and long-term care needs. These expenses can be substantial, and without prior safeguards, they can quickly erode the retirement assets you have worked hard to accumulate. A comprehensive plan must account for potential future costs, long-term care expenses, and funds needed to manage unexpected health shocks.
3. Clear wealth allocation: Ensuring your wishes are precisely fulfilled
Without prior arrangements, your assets will be distributed according to statutory inheritance rules—a list that may differ significantly from your personal wishes. Clear wealth allocation is not only about realising your personal intentions but also about avoiding potential disputes after you are gone.
Additionally, as average life expectancy continues to rise, the retirement plans of the older generation may no longer be sufficient to cover their living and healthcare needs. In fact, situations may even arise where parents outlive their children. This makes it crucial—regardless of whether you have children—to include your parents’ living security and care needs in your legacy planning. It is also worth noting that parents are not automatically recognized as primary heirs under statutory rules. Without proper arrangements, their future financial security could be at risk. An ideal wealth allocation tool should enable you to designate beneficiaries clearly, ensure an efficient transfer of wealth, and remain flexible enough to adapt to your specific needs.
Be ahead with WealthAhead
WealthAhead II Savings Insurance Series^ empowers you to grow your wealth with adaptability, allocate it with precision to match your vision, and pass it on with clarity and care — helping you stay one step ahead through every stage of life.
Choosing tools to achieve your ideal plan
When planning for the future, it is crucial to choose a financial tool that addresses both retirement needs and legacy planning in a comprehensive way. The ideal solution should function as an all‑in‑one wealth management tool, meeting three core requirements: stable growth, essential protection, and effective wealth distribution. By comparison, relying solely on fixed deposits or investments for wealth accumulation, or depending only on wills or trusts for legacy planning, may leave gaps in a holistic financial strategy. In contrast, savings insurance has the potential to cover all these needs, making it an ideal modern choice for future planning.
Among these, AXA’s WealthAhead II Savings Insurance series1 is a solution designed precisely for this purpose. It not only provides medium-to-long-term wealth accumulation but also incorporates innovative features, perfectly aligning with the retirement planning needs of individuals today.
Steady growth, building a solid foundation for retirement
As a professional medium-to-long-term savings plan, AXA’s WealthAhead II Savings Insurance series1 allows your funds to grow steadily over time through the power of compound interest, gradually accumulating into retirement capital.
Savings insurance typically invest funds across a diversified range of financial instruments, including listed equities, corporate bonds, government bonds, real estate, and higher-entry-threshold private equity, thereby achieving risk diversification. This investment approach helps mitigate the risk associated with any single asset, enhancing the stability and security of the investment portfolio—which is crucial for maintaining robust assets for future needs. Another significant value of savings insurance lies in helping to cultivate consistent saving habits. Through a regular premium payment mechanism, wealth is accumulated effortlessly, avoiding impulsive spending. This financial discipline of ‘save first, spend later’ is key to achieving retirement goals.
What’s more, AXA’s WealthAhead II Savings Insurance series1 introduces a first-in-market2 Wealth Master Service3, allowing the pre-designation of up to three recipients to arrange financial planning in advance. The policyholder can also be one of the recipients, providing a stable and reliable cash flow for themselves and their loved ones after retirement, truly realising the ideal of a ‘worry-free retirement’.
Be ahead with WealthAhead
WealthAhead II Savings Insurance Series^ empowers you to grow your wealth with adaptability, allocate it with precision to match your vision, and pass it on with clarity and care — helping you stay one step ahead through every stage of life.
Flexible legacy planning, complete control over wealth distribution
Furthermore, the Wealth Master Service3 of AXA’s WealthAhead II Savings Insurance series1 is exceptionally considerate. You can preset the withdrawal start year, withdrawal period, withdrawal amount, and payout sequence—individually for up to 3 recipients—fully according to your wishes. This allows you to make comprehensive arrangements in advance for your loved ones, ensuring cash flow support is provided in the most ideal way. Whether for a lifelong spouse or deeply cherished siblings, they can all become recipients of your wealth legacy. This straightforward approach to legacy planning, through early preparation, ensures your intentions are conveyed accurately and precisely to your designated recipients.
Customised death benefit, extending protection continuously
AXA’s WealthAhead II Savings Insurance series1 provides basic life cover, allowing you to protect your loved ones. A key feature is the comprehensive death benefit settlement options, which can be chosen as a lump sum payment, payment by instalments, or hybrid payment — with deferral of death proceeds payout for up to 30 years4. This enables you to flexibly set the payout method for the death benefit according to your legacy goals and the unique needs of your beneficiaries, ensuring your wealth is passed on according to your wishes and plans, thereby continuing the protection for those you care about.
Be ahead with WealthAhead
WealthAhead II Savings Insurance Series^ empowers you to grow your wealth with adaptability, allocate it with precision to match your vision, and pass it on with clarity and care — helping you stay one step ahead through every stage of life.
Product Highlights of the AXA’s WealthAhead II Savings Insurance series1
- Supports wealth accumulation with competitive potential returns
- 'Trust-like' 5 wealth distribution and dual legacy pathways—direct your wealth’s future:
- [First-in-market2] Wealth Master Service3: Arrange wealth allocation early in a trust-like5 form, tailor withdrawal amount and period for up to 3 recipients, providing income streams for you and your loved ones;
- Heritage Protector Option6: Pre-set succession event, designated age, contingent owner and interim owner6 for full control on the policy handover. If your children have not yet reached adulthood, you may also let the interim owner6 to manage the policy - With up to 9 policy currency options7, you can enjoy flexible currency conversions8— seamlessly tailored to your personal needs
Start planning today
The meaning of wealth differs for everyone, yet it often ties back to the pursuit of personal happiness. Whether it’s enjoying life as a couple or with family, planning early ensures that the wealth you’ve worked hard to build can truly transform into the fulfilling life you envision.
Choosing the right financial tools is more than just a numbers game—it reflects a sense of responsibility to yourself and those around you. Starting today, begin charting your own path toward financial autonomy, so that every effort you make contributes to the future you desire. After all, true financial freedom is not simply about having enough money, but about living the life you choose and leaving behind the legacy and impact you intend.
*Source: Hong Kong Women Development Association-「港人生育意願2025」Survey （Chinese Only）
^WealthAhead II Savings Insurance Series includes WealthAhead II Savings Insurance – Prime and WealthAhead II Savings Insurance – Supreme.
1. Terms and conditions apply. For the terms, conditions and exclusions of the product, please refer to the relevant product brochure and policy contract of WealthAhead II Savings Insurance Series (including the WealthAhead II Savings Insurance – Prime and WealthAhead II Savings Insurance – Supreme).
2. The information refers to the service of periodic withdrawal with up to 3 recipients of withdrawal payments. The information refers to Hong Kong market only and is based on a comparison of periodic withdrawal arrangements offered by insurers for Long-Term Businesses as defined by the Insurance Authority in the Register of Authorised Insurers in Hong Kong as of July 2025.
3. Wealth Master Service is an administrative service arrangement offered by the Company and not a plan feature of WealthAhead II Savings Insurance Series. Any application for the service is subject to the Company’s approval at its sole and absolute discretion, any applicable laws, regulations and guidelines and the administrative rules of the Company from time to time (including but not limited to the relationship and age requirements of the withdrawal recipients). For details, please refer to the relevant product brochure.
4. You may specify the death benefit settlement start age of each beneficiary, provided that such age shall not exceed the age of the relevant beneficiary at the date of designation by more than 30 years.
5. "Trust-like” indicates that the design concept of WealthAhead II Savings Insurance Series (including “WealthAhead II Savings Insurance - Prime” and “WealthAhead II Savings Insurance - Supreme”) draws from the flexibility and precision of trust, but does not imply it is equivalent to a trust product.
6. The designation of the contingent owner or interim owner and the application for taking up the policy ownership are subject to the approval of the Company at its absolute discretion and must fulfill certain conditions. The interim owner is only applicable to policies issued in Hong Kong. For details, please refer to the relevant product brochure and policy contract.
7. 9 policy currencies includes Renminbi (RMB), United States Dollar (USD), British Pound (GBP), Euro (EUR), Canadian Dollar (CAD), Australian Dollar (AUD), Singapore Dollar (SGD), Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Macau Pataca (MOP) (MOP is only for policies issued in Macau).
8. From the 3rd policy anniversary onwards, you may apply to exercise the Currency Conversion Option within 30 days from each policy anniversary. There is no upper limit on the number of times this option can be exercised, provided that only one application can be made within one policy year. For details, please refer to the relevant product brochure.
No warranty or responsibility is assumed by AXA Hong Kong and our related or holding companies regarding non-infringement, security, accuracy, completeness, adequacy, reasonableness, fitness for a purpose or free from computer viruses in connection with the information and materials provided. AXA Hong Kong and our related companies and holding companies do not accept any liability for any loss, damage, cost or other expense, whether wholly or partially, directly or indirectly, arising from any error, inaccuracy or omission of the information and materials to the extent that such liability is not excluded by law.
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