City Beat | It’s one thing to raise retirement age but what are elderly unskilled workers in Hong Kong going to do in Knowledge Age economy?
- Upside to row over setting new age threshold for welfare payments is chance it presents for city to look into where real job market lies for seniors
- Employers are becoming more flexible but changes in retirement age are never without controversy
The old saying that it is rare for one to live up to 70 years no longer applies, academic-turned-politician Dr Law Chi-kwong, Hong Kong’s welfare minister, pointed out recently.
Law has also called for a redefinition of the term “elderly”, suggesting it would be more accurate to describe people in their 60s as “middle-aged”.
Saying this under different circumstances at another time might be appreciated as complimentary and encouraging for the city’s senior citizens, but unfortunately the current political atmosphere tends to sideline good intentions and sour logically sound suggestions.
That is exactly the case with the government’s much-criticised decision to raise the age eligibility from 60 to 65 for elderly welfare subsidies from February 1.