He Xingwu, 74, teaches students with sign language at a special school in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, on September 13. He has worked in the special school for 23 years, having lost his hearing at the age of eight. Photo: Xinhua
As the share of older people across the Asia-Pacific region increases, we must seek to turn this demographic trend into an opportunity. The number of elderly in the region is expected to rise from 535 million in 2015 to about 1.3 billion by 2050, and we need to consider the effects of this on our economies, societies and livelihoods.
Ignoring this challenge would have profound consequences. We cannot leave care of the elderly to families or ignore the need for health care and income security schemes. Economic growth is not assured; the ratio of working-age people to older people is falling sharply, and in most Asia-Pacific countries, less than a third of the working-age population contributes to a pension scheme.
Traditional systems rely on the family to support ageing relatives, but smaller families mean fewer working-age members to shoulder this responsibility. Declining support ratios also have implications for existing social security schemes, particularly pension systems under which contributions paid by current workers support retirees’ pensions.
Park Makrye, 70, emerged as a YouTube star in her native South Korea this year by talking about life as an elderly person, but still gets up before dawn each day to run her diner. Photo: AP
Between differences in the average age at marriage and longer life expectancies, women outlive their spouses by four to 10 years. Yet women are less likely than men to have adequate pension benefits or control assets like land in their old age. We need special social protection measures to redress the feminisation of poverty.
To economically benefit from ageing populations, we must ensure that older people who want to work have the right and are provided with re-employment. The statutory retirement age across the Asia-Pacific is low, considering increasing life expectancies. Eliminating age barriers in the formal labour market would help ease the fiscal pressure on pension schemes and health care systems. Allowing older people to work as long as they are able and willing would sustain their self-sufficiency and reduce social alienation. Financially secure, healthy older people can use their decades of experience, wisdom and wealth to stimulate growth.
An instructor talks to a student at a driving school for senior citizens, managed by the Japan Automobile Federation, in Kanuma. Photo: AFP
In 2002, the UN brought countries together in Madrid to agree to treat older people as actors of development, ensure their health and well-being, and create enabling environments for them. In our region, delegates from 29 governments assembled in Bangkok recently to add new resolve to existing commitments.
We support countries seeking to turn their commitments into action, securing inclusive and sustainable economies and societies for all ages in the region. We grow wiser together.
Dr Shamshad Akhtar is undersecretary general of the United Nations and executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Tap into power of the elderly
