May 2024

Retirement Planning: Does It Make Sense to Plan to Age 95?

BY  TED GODBOUT   A new report out this week provides an interesting take on whether it makes sense for retirees and near-retirees to base their retirement planning under the industry-wide assumption that they will live to age 95. Instead of simply using age as a factor in determining how much to save and spend for purposes of retirement planning, the report by HealthView Services examines the financial impact for clients of planning to age 95 versus beginning the discussion using actuarial...

Experts warn ‘silver tsunami’ poses threat to the economy as over-65s are set to outnumber children by 2030

Seniors are set to outnumber children for the first time in American history within six years, as experts warn that the country is about to struggle with a dramatically aging population. The 'silver tsunami' has already seen the burden on working age people double since 1960 when there were six workers for every over-65. And millions now risk having no-one to help them as the poorly-paid care industry is squeezed out by better paid jobs in a tight labor market. Economists have been...

Older Adult Employment: 2021 Annual Report

By SeniorLiving.org Workers over the age of 55 represent a huge and essential segment of the American economy, and their influence is growing. In fact, by 2030, one in four U.S. workers will be 55 or older. In part because they account for such a large share of the workforce, older adults have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, and many states had a decline in the number of workers over 55 remaining in the workforce. But overall, the 55-and-older...

The growth of the older workforce

By Richard Fry & Dana Braga The share of older adults holding a job today is much greater than in the mid-1980s. Some 19% of adults ages 65 and older are employed today. In 1987, only 11% of older adults were working. Today’s share is similar to that of the early 1960s, when 18% of older Americans worked. As the employment rate among older adults has gradually risen since the 1990s, employment among younger workers has followed a different pattern. Jobholding...

The US prison system is turning into a de facto nursing home

In late 2018, Richard Washington sent a memo to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit with the subject line “Notice I am being killed.” The 64-year-old man, who decades earlier was convicted on armed robbery charges, was serving a 63-year prison sentence in Arizona. In his letter, he alleged that the Department of Corrections was refusing to give him medication for his various health issues, which included diabetes, hypertension, and hepatitis C. Because of the lack of...

Developing Asia and the Pacific Unprepared for Challenges of Aging Population

Developing Asia and the Pacific is unprepared to secure the well-being of its rapidly aging population as the growing share of older people in the region face challenges from low pension coverage to health problems, social isolation, and limited access to essential services. While longer lifespans reflect the region’s development success, comprehensive policy reforms are urgently needed to support the welfare of older people, according to Aging Well in Asia: Asian Development Policy Report, released today by the Asian Development Bank...

April 2024

China’s unique retirement plan: why children still matter when it comes to support in old age

At the end of last year, the number of people in China aged 65 and above reached 217 million, making up 15.4 per cent of the total population. This has led to concerns that with rapid ageing, the existing pension system may fail to keep pace. As a result, elderly people have turned to raising children to look after them in their old age. This is commonly known as yang er fang lao. Here, the Post explains the phenomenon. What is it ? Simply put yang...

Perception of when old age starts has increased over time, shows study

None of us are getting any younger, but it appears the age at which we are considered old has moved upwards over the generations. What’s more, as adults get older, they shift the goalposts further still, a study has shown. The researchers behind the study said the upward shift could be down to increases in life expectancy and retirement age, as well as other factors. “We should be aware that conceptions and perceptions of ‘old’ change across historical time, and that people...

Aging population to drive down Korea’s housing prices from 2040: experts

South Korea's housing prices are expected to see a long-term decline starting in 2040, hit by the nation’s falling birth rate and quickly aging society, according to experts who joined a Seoul seminar hosted by construction project management firm Hanmi Global on Tuesday. "In 2025, South Korea will become a superaging society with an over-65 population surpassing 10 million, which will account for more than 20 percent of the country's total population. Due to the aging population and overall decline...

Living to 95 may impact the world as much as AI and climate change

You need an 'evergreen' approach to life, work and health, economics professor Andrew Scott says In the first session of his world economy class at the London Business School, economics professor Andrew Scott asked students to name the trends that will transform their lives and careers over the next several decades. Artificial intelligence and climate change sparked much discussion among his students. Meanwhile, the trend of demographic change and "more old people" was seen as a negative. In his new book, "The...