June 2022

Vanderbilt University Launches Study on LGBTQ+ Aging, Health Disparities

Researchers have launched a four-year longitudinal study of older LGBTQ+ people in the South to better understand aging and health disparities in the community. A team of researchers from Vanderbilt University has announced the first-ever longitudinal study of LGBTQ+ aging to better understand stress, resilience, and health disparities in this infrequently studied population. The effort, known as the Vanderbilt University Social Networks, Aging, and Policy Study (VUSNAPS), is entirely comprised of LGBTQ+ people, including older LGBTQ, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming adults....

Vietnam: Most citizens grow old without retirement funding plans

Many Vietnamese citizens likely to grow old without any savings or retirement plan due to low income and lack of access to elderly care. Ms Luong Thi My Hanh, head of domestic asset management at investment fund Dragon Capital Vietnam, said most Vietnamese workers do not have a retirement plan and are focused merely on meeting daily needs, according to a report in VnExpress. Most of them save for short-term goals and usually spend all the money they have, she added. Over...

South Korea saw biggest natural population decline for the month of April

The number of deaths in South Korea recorded in April rose to an all-time high for that month. According to Statistics Korea, in April, there were almost 37-thousand deaths, which was a whopping 46.3 percent increase from a year earlier. As for the number of births, it was the 77th month in a row almost six-and-a-half years straight that the number of babies born has declined. Births came in at a little over 21-thousand, which was down 7 percent from a year...

Are You Setting Yourself Up For Unhealthy Aging?

Health experts anywhere, including those in the Federal government tell us we need to move more, sit less and eat a healthy diet, especially as we age. Yet, the majority of adults over 65 aren’t following these guidelines. What’s stopping ordinary folks from following this advice? Over half of American seniors are not getting the recommended 150 minutes a week of aerobic exercise. 150 minutes can mean walking briskly for 30 minutes five days a week. One can cut...

Aussie aged pensioners call for opportunity to work more hours

A growing number of Aussie seniors still working after retirement age are calling for the opportunity to work more hours without being penalised for it. A group of pensioners have told A Current Affair they're willing to help fill Australia's labour void, but the problem is that if they work too many hours, it will affect their pension. "If I work an hour over my 30 hours a fortnight, it changes my pension quite a bit," dementia specialist and senior Betty...

Gay, gray, black, and blue: An examination of some of the challenges faced by older LGBTQ people of color

By Seon Kum Few studies exist that highlight the life experiences of the older LGBTQ person of color. This cohort faces unique challenges in life that have not been explored or investigated extensively, if at all. Older LGBTQ people of color have experienced discrimination based on race, gender, and sexuality in all phases of their lives, often bearing witness to and helping to start various equal rights and social justice movements. In addition to the unique challenges that come with...

May 2022

Elderly in Ghana: Forgotten or presumed dead?

We live in interesting times. Suddenly, living conditions in many parts of the world have become unbearably harsh and people are agitating for concrete steps to be taken in order to maintain their standard of living. In Ghana, many worker unions have pushed (through demonstrations and strikes) for increases in salaries and allowances that compare with the cost of living or reflect the rate of inflation. Like a big industrial machine, our country has set up a network of systems that...

The Economic Well-Being of LGBT Adults in the U.S. in 2019

By CLEAR The Federal Reserve Board has conducted the Survey of Household Economic Decisionmaking (SHED) since 2013. In 2019, the survey included LGBTQ people by asking U.S. adults about their sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), enabling for the first time the creation of a picture of the economic well-being of LGBT households using the SHED data. Analysis of the data shows that in 2019: • LGBT adults were more often struggling to get by. Fewer than two-thirds of LGBT adults reported...

How to make active aging an integral part of economic growth in China

China is a rapidly graying country with those aged 60 or above reaching 267 million or 18.9% of the total population, and this may rise to one-third of the population before 2050. Welfare reform must work in tandem with social policy so as to make active aging an integral part of economic growth, linking health to wealth and common prosperity. Healthcare, labour reskilling and gender parity are three areas of focus for domestic policy to solve the challenges...

Impact of financial investment on the individual’s confidence of happy retirement life

By Yan-Leung Cheung, Billy S C Mak, Hao Shu & Weiqiang Tan The study examines the impact of financial investment on the individual’s confidence in happy retirement life using data from 735 respondents in the Bank Consortium Holding Limited (BCT) Public Opinion Survey on Retirement Happiness in 2017. The result shows that holding the investment portfolio with savings and risky assets is positively and significantly correlated with the individual’s confidence of happy retirement life, and this relationship is more pronounced...