December 2020

Aging China Must Work Longer and Invest Smarter

China is getting older. That means the Chinese people will have to work longer. But deeper reforms will also be necessary to ensure income growth doesn’t stagnate. Read also Asset management CEO arrested in Taiwan pension fund scandal The world’s most populous country has begun aging rapidly over the past decade, but the pace is going to pick up even more as tens of millions reach retirement age. The working population—people between the ages of 15 and 59—will drop by...

A silver lining for aging Asia

Many Asian economies will age more rapidly over the next several decades, including Hong Kong, Japan, mainland China, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Asia’s working-age population peaked in 2015 and will gradually decline at an accelerating rate in the coming decades. By 2050, the elderly population in these countries on average is expected to increase to 27% from 7% in 1995. Reduced labor supply creates a drag on growth, but this can be mitigated by higher labor participation,...

Why economics needs to wake up to ageing populations

Economics generally pays surprisingly little attention to demography, even though the ageing and shrinking of the population in so many parts of the world is a striking and new phenomenon in human history. Take Italy. Last year the country recorded the smallest annual number of births since the Risorgimento of the mid-19th century and nearly a third of its population is over 60. There has been an absolute decline in the number of people in Italy since 2015, even...

November 2020

China to introduce new policies to tackle ageing population

China is planning to include new measures to encourage more births and address issues associated with its rapidly ageing population and shrinking workforce as part of its new 2021-2025 “five-year plan”, according to state media. Read also Malaysia is ageing, raise retirement age to 65 gradually, says World Bank Citing experts, the official China Daily newspaper said on Monday that the Chinese government will offer extensive financial and policy support to encourage couples to have more children. Read also Australia’s...

Building Better Retirement Systems in the Wake of the Global Pandemic

By Olivia S. Mitchell In the wake of the global pandemic known as COVID-19, retirees, along with those hoping to retire someday, have been shocked into a new awareness of the need for better risk management tools to handle longevity and aging. This paper offers an assessment of the status quo prior to the spread of the coronavirus, evaluates how retirement systems are faring in the wake of the shock. Next we examine insurance and financial market products that may...

How the pandemic is changing what retirement means to consumers: Survey

COVID-19 is having a fundamental impact on retirement, according to a study by Principal. One in five respondents said the effects of the pandemic were “changing the definition of retirement,” including 23% of people who were already retired. COVID-19 is having a fundamental impact on retirement, according to a study by Principal. One in five respondents said the effects of the pandemic were “changing the definition of retirement,” including 23% of people who were already retired. The study highlights...

The technologies that could transform ageing

At the start of the summer, Paula Tinkler was ready to take her career in a new direction. This may not be unusual – but the speed with which she was able to make the transition was. Within a week, she was shadowing a carer in Workington, England. Within a month, she was working as a carer herself. Not only was her training rapid – it also took place completely in her own home. “I began the recruitment process...

October 2020

COVID-19 and the Future of Aging: A Public Health Forecast

Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging: What has the COVID-19 pandemic shown us about the importance of investment in public health — are there opportunities for improvement that can be made in time to help? Dr. Linda Fried: COVID-19 has unmasked so many areas where the United States has not invested adequately to protect its people. A key example is our public health system. It should be responsible for creating seventy percent of the health of our...

Highlights of China’s elderly care over past five years

China has been running at full tilt to foster a social environment in which senior citizens are respected, cared for and live happily in the span of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), given the country's fast-growing aging population. By the end of 2019, China had a population of 254 million aged 60 or above, accounting for 18.1 percent of the national population. The number is expected to exceed 300 million in the next five years, according to the Ministry of...

Young people in the UK expect to retire before turning 64

On average, young people between the ages of 18 and 34, expect to retire at the age of 63 and eight months, while one in eight are looking to retire by 55, new data has shown. A survey by Opinium for investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown said that in contrast, those over 55 expect to retire on average at 67 and 11 months, with 20% aiming to stop work after 70. The current average age of retirement in the UK...