SG's number of old will soon match young for first time

[kdash]

Singapore's number of old will soon match young for first time

 

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapores-number-old-will-soon-match-young-first-time

 

more policy changes coming up in future? in terms of more FT/FW coming in, and higher taxes to support the senior citizens... 

 

One way to increase the labour supply would be to ease immigration restrictions, a move that would have to be done at a managed pace to avoid worsening the "foreigner assimilation issue" in Singapore, even though the country can't afford zero immigration, Mr Tan said. Singapore tightened rules on the hiring of foreigners in the wake of the 2011 election, amid voter discontent over gridlock and competition for employment, property and education.

 

 

The stark trend also helps explain why Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said tax increases are not a matter of if, but when. His remarks were echoed by other government officials, suggesting that a boost to the goods and services tax, among other proposals, is being considered for implementation as early as next year.

Mr Tan sees the government increasing the GST next year to 8 per cent from 7 per cent, with an equal boost in 2019.

 

 

[Jman888]

the aging problem is real, some countries already facing it.

Dying alone in Tokyo, the world's most populous city

AFP  Dec 01, 2017

 

A worker for special cleaning, wearing a protective suit, takes pictures of a man's apartment who died alone and left decomposing for three weeks, in Tokyo.

PHOTO: AFP

 

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TOKYO - The stench of flesh rotting on a sultry day fills the air as cleaner Hidemitsu Ohshima steps into a tiny Tokyo apartment where a dead man lay decomposing for three weeks.

 

The man, believed to be in his 50s, died alone in a city he shared with tens of millions of other people but no one noticed, making him the latest victim of "Kodokushi" or "dying alone" - a growing trend in ageing Japan.

 

Decked out in a white protective suit complete with rubber gloves, Ohshima lifts up a futon mattress soaked with the dead man's bodily fluids, only to uncover a writhing mass of maggots and black bugs.

 

"Ugh, this is serious," he says. "You wear protective suits to defend yourself from bugs that may or may not be carrying diseases."

 

Kodokushi is a growing problem in Japan, where 27.7 per cent of the population is aged over 65 and many people are giving up trying to find partners in middle age, opting instead for a solitary existence.

 

Experts say a combination of uniquely Japanese cultural, social and demographic factors have compounded the problem.

 

LONELY DEATH

 

There are no official figures for the number of people dying alone who stay unnoticed for days and weeks but most experts estimate it at 30,000 per year.

 

Yoshinori Ishimi, who runs the Anshin Net service that cleans up afterwards, believes the true figure is "twice or three times that."

 

Modern Japan has experienced sweeping cultural and economic changes in recent decades but demographers say the country's social safety net has failed to keep pace - with the burden still on the family to look after the elderly.

 

"In Japan, family has long served as the strong foundation of social support of all kinds," said Katsuhiko Fujimori, a well-known expert on welfare issues.

 

"But now things are changing with the rise of single people and the size of the family becoming smaller," added Mr Fujimori, chief research associate at Mizuho Information and Research Institute.

 

In the past three decades, Japan has seen the share of single-occupant households more than double to 14.5 per cent of the total population, the rise driven mainly by men in their 50s and women in their 80s and older.

 

Marriage rates are also dropping, with experts saying many men fear their job is too precarious to settle down and start a family and more women entering the workforce and no longer needing a husband to provide for them.

 

One in four 50-year-old Japanese men has never been married. By 2030, the figure is estimated to rise to one in three.

 

ISOLATION

 

The problem is exacerbated by a deep-rooted Japanese cultural tendency to turn to family rather than neighbours in times of trouble.

 

In a bid to be polite, elderly Japanese people fear to disturb their neighbours even to ask for help in the most trifling matters, resulting in a lack of interaction and isolation, expert Fujimori said.

 

Some 15 per cent of elderly Japanese people living alone report having only one conversation a week, compared to five per cent of their peers in Sweden, six per cent in the US and eight per cent in Germany, according to a Japanese government study.

 

And families increasingly live away or do not have the resources to help elderly relatives in tough economic times.

 

Mr Fujimori advocates raising taxes to provide better social care for the elderly and financial assistance for childcare, freeing up working-age adults to return to the workforce.

 

"If family can no longer play the roles it has been playing, society must build a framework that responds to that need," said Mr Fujimori.

 

"If nothing is done, we'll see more solitary deaths," he added.

 

NO PICTURES, NO LETTERS

 

Aside from the anguish for relatives when they realise their loved-one has lain undiscovered for days, there is a practical element as these cases tend to cause apartment prices to plunge.

 

Cleaning firm boss Ishimi says Japan needs to educate young people about the issue and the lack of dignity suffered by the isolated elderly.

 

"How does one wish to die? Society as a whole must think about this," he said.

 

Meanwhile, back at the Tokyo apartment, Mr Ohshima and his team keep the windows closed to prevent the noxious stench from spreading through the densely populated neighbourhood.

 

The room is filled with signs of the frugal, clean living of a music and movie lover who kept a vast collection of CDs and DVDs but not much else. No pictures. No letters.

 

Most items are thrown out but Mr Ohshima and his two colleagues methodically go through the man's belongings for valuables in case his family eventually comes forward and wishes to see whatever he left behind.

 

"Police are looking for his relatives," said Mr Ohshima.

 

"But no luck so far."

 

 

 

[kdash]

 

the aging problem is real, some countries already facing it.

 

 

 

agreed. there have been a few similar cases in SG also. only when there was a smell after a few days of inactivity then the neighbours realised the old folk passed away alone at home... sad way to go... 

[Angcheek]

Singapore's number of old will soon match young for first time

 

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapores-number-old-will-soon-match-young-first-time

 

more policy changes coming up in future? in terms of more FT/FW coming in, and higher taxes to support the senior citizens... 

 

 

The super white wanted growth themselves while the market / people's earning is not .. Tax is the 

easiest way    else how to justify for all the spending .  

[SuPerBoRed]

more policy changes coming up in future? in terms of more FT/FW coming in, and higher taxes to support the senior citizens... 

 

 

if we are a welfare state... i can understand that move.... 

 

last i checked... i old.. my problem... 

[kdash]

if we are a welfare state... i can understand that move.... 

 

last i checked... i old.. my problem... 

 

well, CPF is there, although the withdrawal age keeps getting pushed back haha... maybe when my time comes, can only withdraw at 80yo... 

[DACH]

more policy changes coming up in future? in terms of more FT/FW coming in, and higher taxes to support the senior citizens... 

 

Why not cut the majority of ministerial salaries by half? That will alone save the country millions of dollars every year to deal with the aging population problem in future. While the country is facing a serious issue like this, all the more we should look into the expenses of the country and cut those that are unnecessary and wasteful. 

While I do not advocate using the reserves for such problems, we should scrutinize such unnecessary expenses and use whatever dollar to solve the problem, till there is no other choice, then we should consider increase the taxes. 

if we are a welfare state... i can understand that move.... 

 

last i checked... i old.. my problem... 

Try to migrate to retire.

It's not totally the problem of the CPF scheme but the costs of living in the future will just keep increasing at levels that the CPF scheme cannot even catch up.

[Throttle2]

If got decent inheritance, all the relatives will appear.

If nothing all disappear.

The harsh realities of life.

 

[Angcheek]

If got decent inheritance, all the relatives will appear.

If nothing all disappear.

The harsh realities of life.

ð©

Let me guess ...

 

Your mom's cousin's cousin's great great grand auntie's daughter's cousin just appeared at ur house ....

[Throttle2]

Let me guess ...

 

Your mom's cousin's cousin's great great grand auntie's daughter's cousin just appeared at ur house ....

Edited December 6, 2017 by Throttle2

[Sosaria]

Should be made required viewing in our schools ... this dying alone thing.

 

Problem starts when young people cannot take stress, avoid all difficulties associated with marriage, setting up a home and family.

 

Sure, will be stress-free and easy-going when still young, but when they grow old eventually, it's a different story.

 

There's no guarantee of course that our children will look after us in our old age, but at least there's someone, and the chance is there - if all else fails, have more children

[DACH]

Should be made required viewing in our schools ... this dying alone thing.

 

Problem starts when young people cannot take stress, avoid all difficulties associated with marriage, setting up a home and family.

 

Sure, will be stress-free and easy-going when still young, but when they grow old eventually, it's a different story.

 

There's no guarantee of course that our children will look after us in our old age, but at least there's someone, and the chance is there - if all else fails, have more children

I'm sure some of the people here do not mind dying alone, rather than seeing their children fighting for their inheritances at their death beds. 

[FurionLfg]

Mass immigration is not the answer. Think about it. The immigrants will also get old, and sooner, because they come in their late twenties to forties.

 

Best solution is to bite the bullet like Japan.

 

Or, in Singapore's case, annexation by a bigger country is also a good idea.

[Pocy]

well, CPF is there, although the withdrawal age keeps getting pushed back haha... maybe when my time comes, can only withdraw at 80yo...

CPF = l old ..... my problem?

[kdash]

CPF = l old ..... my problem?

well, garment is trying to put the onus on us to support ourselves during our old age, hence CPF... alternative solution would be welfare fund for elderly which many western countries are doing... puts a burden on the country's budget, aka higher tax...

 

not for or against our garment, but just saying whats the current situation here.

[Showster]

Mass immigration is not the answer. Think about it. The immigrants will also get old, and sooner, because they come in their late twenties to forties.

 

Best solution is to bite the bullet like Japan.

 

Or, in Singapore's case, annexation by a bigger country is also a good idea.

The best is to get more people required by specific industries to work here in their prime (20s to 40s), and have them return to their country of birth when it’s time to retire.

 

Everybody gains.

[DACH]

The best is to get more people required by specific industries to work here in their prime (20s to 40s), and have them return to their country of birth when itâs time to retire.

 

Everybody gains.

Depends on what kind of industries. With more and more manual work taken over by technologies, is it still necessary to import people for these industries?

[Showster]

Many types of work still requires humans making decisions, personal interactions etc.

 

Healthcare and early childhood education are two sectors that can use technologies to accomplish more, but require more humans to spearhead. Technology cannot replace humans in some of those industries.

 

 

Depends on what kind of industries. With more and more manual work taken over by technologies, is it still necessary to import people for these industries?