Ageing
Population
1.
One factor in the widening
income gap is our ageing population
2.
Singapore has one of the
fastest ageing populations in the world
a.
Not enough
babies
b.
Singaporeans are living
longer
i.
Conversation with Father
Michael Arro, Parish Priest at the Church of
St
Teresa
(1)
He came from
France 50 years
ago
(2)
Then his parishioners
retired at 55, and he held funeral services for them around 60 – 5
years
(3)
Now, people retire at 62,
and live longer to around 80 – around 20 years of
retirement!
ii.
Father Arro was spot on
(1)
In 1957, average life
expectancy was 61
(2)
Today, average life
expectancy is 80
(3)
Many will live longer, e.g.
to 90, or 100 and beyond
(a)
9,000 Singaporeans over 90
years old
(b)
Of these, 500 Singaporeans
are over 100!
(i)
e.g. 110-year-old
Teresa Hsu – featured on CNA programme (“The New
Old”)
(ii)
She is not the
oldest
(4)
Also saw retired Prof Ann
Wee (81) on the programme
(a)
Described herself as OPWA
(Old Person With Attitude)
(b)
Said she aimed for a
“rectangular life”
(c)
Happy and meaningful life
for as long as you live
(d)
When the time comes, let it
be quick and painless
(5)
Aim not to live forever,
but to have a good life, and a good death
(a)
What Hokkiens call “ho see” (好死)
(6)
Japanese have the same
philosophy
(a)
Seek three major components
of a happy life: “ample eating, leisurely sleeping, and sudden death”
(b)
Special temples where
people go to pray this – “pokkuri
dera” (temples blessing longevity and painless death)
c.
What will
Singapore be like in
2020?
i.
Visited Radin Mas – Sam
Tan’s ward
(1)
17% of residents (1 in 6)
are aged 65 and above
(2)
Singapore as a whole will
be close to this proportion by 2020
ii.
Show you some
photos
(1)
Met many senior
citizens
(a)
Celebrating birthday
together
(2)
Staying active
(a)
RC helps to bring them
together
(b)
Not just to
exercise
(c)
Also to socialise and keep
in touch
(3)
Sam Tan started “Project
Golden Service”
(a)
Help them to pick up
skills, do something meaningful and earn some pocket
money
(b)
Some are good at
calligraphy
(c)
Others give haircuts
(d)
This 67 year old makes
fancy ketupats
(e)
One group of women (in
their late 70s) get together every weekend to chat and sew
quilts
(4)
Chatted with these two
ladies
(a)
Mdm Ng Sock Cheng,
68
(i)
Old resident of
mine in Teck Ghee
(ii)
Had a spine
operation and was wheelchair-bound
(iii)
Joined a
religious group, made friends, chants and meditates
daily
(iv)
Regained her
strength and now walking again
(v)
Said “I have
something to look forward to, chatting with my friends, thinking of
new things to do, all the time getting
stronger”
(vi)
She asked me: her
CPF runs out this year. What will happen after
that?
(vii)
Have some ideas
to make the CPF last longer – will talk about this
later
(b)
Mdm Lee Siew Lan
(i)
91, but still
working as a cleaner in Redhill Market
(ii)
Introduced by the
hawkers to the cleaning contractor (courtesy of NTUC’s job re-design
programme)
(iii)
Officially earns
$800, but she moonlights helping out hawkers
(iv)
Fiercely
independent. She said:
“When people give me free things, I don’t accept. Why, when I can
afford to pay? But if they say OK, you are a friend, we give you a
discount, then I think ‘OK, friends can accept
kindness’”
(5)
Also met Mdm Loke Tai Hoe,
89, retired samsui woman (Slide
8)
(a)
Here chatting with Tuck Yew
(b)
Came to
Singapore at age 18, and
worked till she was 79
(c)
Brought up 10
children
(d)
Husband has passed away,
now lives with four unmarried children
(6)
As Singaporeans grow older,
need more help
(a)
In Radin Mas, flats are
fitted for elderly living
(b)
VWO downstairs
(c)
Social workers and RC
volunteers visit the old folks regularly and help to look after them
(d)
All the old folks are very
grateful – many told me about “德教” – Thye Hua
Kwan Moral Society
(7)
Happy to see that they are
active, healthy, and cared for by the community
(a)
But worried that more and
more elderly are living by themselves
(b)
Best solution is still the
family
(i)
Stay with
children
(ii)
Or at least have
children staying nearby who visit them regularly
3.
Radin Mas is a glimpse of
our future
a.
All wards have senior
citizens like these
b.
Radin Mas has more, but not
the oldest ward – Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng in Jalan Besar GRC even older – 25% (or 1
in 4) above 65!
c.
By 2020, all of us will
have a lot more white hair
d.
Whole society will need to
make many adjustments
4.
Government is seized with
this issue
a.
Lim Boon Heng is working on it full
time
b.
Talked about this in
Chinese earlier
c.
One important aspect –
savings for old age
5.
REACH recently did a
consultation exercise on Active Ageing
a.
Two thorny issues
consistently came up
i.
Employment opportunities
for older workers, i.e. working longer
ii.
Having sufficient funds for
old age, i.e. CPF savings
b.
Will focus on
these