Ageing & Intergenerational Gap

The United Nations 2017 report projects that the world’s population aged 60 or older will grow to 40.1% by 2050, and Singapore stands as one of the fastest ageing countries. This demographic transition poses several challenges for ageing societies. Without a sufficient tax-base to sustain the public programs to support the growing older generation, more aging individuals may suffer from a lack of retirement preparedness. Efforts to expand the size or the scope of old-age pension schemes are often met with disagreements from various stakeholders. While one way to improve the retirement preparedness is to extend the working lives of aging individuals, their labor market outcomes are continuously deteriorating—due to age-related discriminations as well as rapidly-evolving workplace technologies to which older workers have a harder time adjusting than their younger counterparts. Such challenges tend to lead not only to financial instabilities but also health issues. 

The impacts of population ageing as well as the responsibility to provide relief are unevenly divided across age-groups, gender, race, and employment type—potentially leading to further societal fragmentation and intergenerational gap. How will Singapore and other ageing societies cope with the growing numbers of older persons and facilitate better intergenerational relations? How can we revamp the pension schemes, healthcare, and the labour market to improve retirement preparedness? How should the public policy be revamped to address not only the financial costs but also the non-financial (e.g., psychological, health) costs associated with population ageing?