The greying of Thailand
can't rely on children for retirement anymore
like the good old days
By Jon Fernquest |
Today's Bangkok Post editorial discusses a report on ageing in Thailand recently released by the UN Population Fund (Download and read the report for free: link).
You always hear about the greying of affluent countries like Japan or Europe and the problems that countries might face in the future when a young minority must support an older, often retired, majority:
"At present, Thailand is the second most aged country in Southeast Asia, next to Singapore, with older people, defined as those who are 60 years and above, constituting more than 10% of the population. The snag, however, is we are ageing faster than others in the region. In 12 years, the proportion of older people is projected to almost double to 19.8%. It will be a critical point as it would mark the first time in the country's history that the population of older people would exceed that of children less than 15 years old."
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"The UN Population Fund's report on ageing in Thailand stipulated that the higher number of older people will imply "a reduction in income per capita, savings and investments, as well as increase in public expenditures on social security, health care and welfare of older persons"."
A greying of a nation's population always means fewer young people to support more old people, and in a country like Thailand where many assume that their children will take care of them in their old age, this could spell problems in the future.
Parents even use retirement as a way to push their kids to deliver grandchildren, early and often, often something like: "Who's going to look after you in your old age honey, quick start having some children, you got a problem or what?"
"...[the report] says the number of working-age adults potentially available to contribute to support the population aged 65 or more will be reduced by half. All these predictions point to a possibility that people who are getting old now will face economic hardship, even poverty, unless they have somehow managed to garner adequate financial resources or rely on their family for assistance. Unfortunately, a survey of the elderly in 2002 revealed that only a third of the older people can make ends meet.
Luckily the 30 baht universal health care scheme got Thailand going in the right direction and compulsory licensing of cancer drugs means Thailand no longer needs to be held hostage by international pharmaceutical companies, but seriously, isn't 60 a little too early to retire given this population trend?
The 30-baht universal health care scheme will continue to serve as the backbone of the support system. The ageing trend, however, has the potential of burdening an already stretched scheme to breaking point. Instead of relying only on the healthcare end, the government will have to invest in other pro-active, long-term social security schemes such as universal pension, finding more income-generating possibilities for older people....Would we want to consider extending the mandatory retirement age to 65? Are there other mechanisms to support our so-far excellent family unit in taking care of the old apart from the existing tax reduction? Or how to go about setting a programme so that every worker has his or her pension fund? The Ministry of Labour itself admitted that a universal pension scheme might be too costly for the country and that it does not have enough experience or knowledge yet to develop a model that will cover the large number of informal workers.
One of the most obvious areas to work on, is combining Thailand's attractiveness as a retirement destination for affluent European countries and Japan, with developing the infrastructure to support an increased number of Thais entering retirement in the future.
For further reading, read another report by the UN Population Fund on Migration and Intergenerational Solidarity: Evidence from Rural Thailand that:
"...examines the impact of out-migration from rural areas in Thailand on intergenerational solidarity. With increasing migration of young adults from rural areas to the towns and cities, Thailand offers an interesting case to examine the implications of migration for maintenance of relationships among family members of different generations." (Link to report)
Also, read Wikipedia articles on ageing, retirement, and population ageing.
(Source: Bangkok Post, op-ed section, 25-01-08, temp-link)
Vocabulary:
greying (of a population) - when the percentage of older people in a population increases a great deal
retirement - (See Wikipedia)
UN Population Fund - the world's largest international source of funding for population and reproductive health programs, the Fund works with governments and non-governmental organizations in over 140 countries with the support of the international community, supporting programs that help women, men and young people: plan their families and avoid unwanted pregnancies, undergo pregnancy and childbirth safely, avoid sexually, transmitted infections, combat violence against women, and promote the equality of women (See Wikipedia)
affluent - wealthy, has money, not poor
X constituting Y - X can be regarded or taken as being Y
the snag - the difficult to solve problem
X projected to Y - people predict that Y will happen to X in the future
a critical point - a time when some important even happens
X would mark Y - X would be an event that tells people clearly that Y is the case, X would signify Y, X would indicate Y
a welfare state - A set of government programs that attempts to provide economic security for the population by providing for people when they are unemployed, ill, or otherwise unable to support themselves
Jon Ungpakorn - former Thai senator, activist, NGO leader, and Bangkok Post columnist
ASAP - As Soon As Possible, very quickly because very urgent
stipulated - stated clearly that something must be done (for example in a condition in an agreement or contract; see glossary)
social security - a government-funded program to provide people who are unable to work because of old-age, disability, unemployment, or because they are the wife or children of someone who died (survivor's benefits) with money so that they are able to live
X could spell problems - problems might arise in the future because of X
garner - get or collect something useful
make ends meet - make enough money to survive (buy necessary food, clothing, and shelter)
going in the right direction - doing what is necessary to solve a problem
compulsory licensing - when a government forces the holder of a patent, copyright, or other exclusive right to grant use to them (See Wikipedia)
X held hostage by Y - Y prevents X from doign what needs to or wants to do
serve as the backbone of - is the basis or foundation on which a system is built
burdening - adding additional things it has to do with its limited budget
stretched scheme - the scheme or programme does not have enough money to do everything it has to do
the breaking point - the situation and time at which a system breaks and ceases to work properly anymore
mandatory retirement - an age at which you must retire, typically 60 years old in Thailand
pension scheme - a system that companies have to help their employees save for retirement
informal workers - people who do not work for large companies that take care of their employees with health insurance, pensions, and other benefits
