China's 'young elderly' reshape silver economy with active lifestyles: Citi
China's wealthier retirees are spending on ballet, hiking and health supplements, shifting retirement from survival to quality of life, according to a Citi report. Insurers, sportswear firms and supplement makers are the main beneficiaries as the over-60 population reached 323.4 million by end-2025.
Retirement in China is shifting from simply living longer to aging better, as a wealthier generation of retirees embraces ballet lessons at 70, mountain hiking at 75, and proactive health and nutrition management at 80, according to a Citi research report.
Having benefited from decades of rapid economic growth, rising incomes, and property appreciation, China's "young elderly" — broadly defined as those aged 50 to 64 — are entering retirement with substantial wealth accumulation and a greater willingness to invest in their quality of life, Citi analysts wrote in the third installment of their China Silver Economy series.
The demographic shift represents one of China's most significant long-term structural themes. The country's population aged 60 and above reached 323.4 million at the end of 2025, up from 255.7 million in 2019, accounting for 23 per cent of the national total, according to National Bureau of Statistics data cited in the report. With roughly 10 million people joining the over-60 bracket annually through 2030, Citi identified insurance, sportswear, and health supplements as the primary corporate beneficiaries.
Shrinking family sizes are transforming elderly care from a private family duty into a commercial ecosystem. China's average household size fell to 2.62 people in 2020 from 3.10 a decade earlier, and roughly 60 per cent of citizens aged 60 and older lived alone or only with a spouse in 2021, according to China Daily. To bridge the care gap, Chinese life insurers are aligning their business models with the "9073" framework, under which 90 per cent of seniors age at home, 7 per cent rely on community services, and 3 per cent reside in institutional facilities. Citi analysts Michelle Ma and Amy Jy Chen estimate senior-care services could facilitate up to 3.6 trillion yuan of insurance premiums by 2030.
China's seniors are increasingly redirecting budgets from their children toward self-improvement and outdoor recreation, wrote Citi analysts Xiaopo Wei and Vincent Young. Citing Accenture China Consumer Research, Citi noted that 39 per cent of Chinese consumers aged 55 to 65 plan to raise spending on fitness and sports over the next year, up from 27 per cent in 2021. The share planning to spend more on their children's education dropped to 15 per cent in 2025 from 37 per cent in 2021. Regular sports participation among citizens aged 60 and above climbed to 33.9 per cent in 2025, more than doubling from 14.9 per cent in 2015, per the State General Administration of Sport.
Government policy is reinforcing the trend. In July 2026, the State Council issued the National Fitness Plan targeting a 40 per cent regular sports participation rate by 2030, alongside the Boosting Consumption Plan which aims to lift total retail sales of consumer goods to roughly 60 trillion yuan by 2030 with an explicit focus on the silver economy. Outdoor gear has become the only double-digit growth segment in China's sportswear market, with retail sales of outdoor apparel and footwear growing at compound annual rates of 24 per cent and 18 per cent respectively between 2020 and 2025, per Euromonitor.
While McKinsey's Global Healthy Aging Survey shows Chinese retirees aged 55 to 64 feel socially, mentally, and spiritually fulfilled, many report lower satisfaction with their physical health, spurring demand for preventive nutrition, wrote Citi analysts Tiffany Feng and Brian Cho. China's non-pediatric vitamins, minerals, and health supplements market expanded at a 6.4 per cent compound annual rate from 173.2 billion yuan in 2021 to reach 236.1 billion yuan in 2026, and Euromonitor projects the sector will continue growing.