At present, only 45 per cent of those who are 60-64 in Hong Kong are employed, and most have only low secondary school educational attainment levels. Photo: EPA-EFE

Opinion

Paul Yip

Ageing Hong Kong should aim to keep its elderly healthy and in a job, rather than eligible for welfare

Paul Yip and Asghar Zaidi say the row over the Hong Kong government’s proposal to raise the age threshold for elderly welfare payments misses the more worthy battle to avert the negative impact of workforce decline

Paul Yip and Asghar Zaidi

Published: 7:00am, 22 Jan, 2019

Updated: 9:38am, 22 Jan, 2019

At present, only 45 per cent of those who are 60-64 in Hong Kong are employed, and most have only low secondary school educational attainment levels. Photo: EPA-EFE

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Paul Yip

Paul Yip is the founding director of the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention at the University of Hong Kong, and a professor at the university's Department of Social Work and Social Administration. His interests include suicide prevention, population health and poverty research. He serves as the secretary general of the Asian Population Association and the research chair of the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong. He was a part-time member of the Central Policy Unit and a member of the Hong Kong government's Steering Committee on Population Policy.

Asghar Zaidi

Asghar Zaidi is a professor of social gerontology at Seoul National University, South Korea; he is also a visiting professor at London School of Economics and senior research fellow at Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, University of Oxford, UK. HIs research spans measurement of active and healthy ageing, well-being of older persons, disability and data on ageing.