Essay on Ageing Population in Singapore: Positive & Negative Impacts

If you’re looking for a sample essay on the ageing population in Singapore, this article will be very helpful.

Definition

Ageing is the process of becoming older, marked by the aggregation of physical, physiological, and social changes in a human over time. This is a natural phenomenon that every human is bound to experience.

An ageing population occurs when the median age of people in the country increases, and more individuals enter their 60s. Today, in Singapore, the ageing population is becoming the most important issue to address. It has become a tough challenge to provide adequate housing and healthcare for the elderly.

Due to the inadequate allocation of funds and lack of concern for elderly people, they may have to beg for necessities.

Singapore has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, a low birth rate, and a high rate of ageing. Almost 10% of its 5 million population is above 65 years old. This figure is expected to increase to 25% by 2021, which poses a significant challenge for the country.

This will impact many areas of society. Young people may worry about how to take care of their elderly parents while managing their own families. Women nearing retirement may worry about their future.

It is the duty of any government to address such critical issues and meet the needs of its citizens. Therefore, Singapore’s government must take action to resolve the ageing issue and formulate policies to counter this problem.

Stakeholders Involved:

Before finding solutions to Singapore’s ageing problem, it is important to identify the stakeholders involved. By studying the effect of ageing on stakeholders, we can forecast solutions to mitigate the negative effects.

Primary Stakeholders

Senior Citizens: Senior citizens are the main group affected by this issue. Their primary concerns include:

• How will future generations be able to support the increasing elderly population?
• Will the government introduce any policies or schemes to improve the welfare of the elderly?
• Will infrastructure be able to accommodate the needs of older people?

Working Singaporeans: ageing people require constant care and healthcare services. With rising taxes and decreasing incomes, it is becoming increasingly difficult for working individuals to provide proper care for their parents.

Singapore Government: With a decreasing workforce, the ageing population’s impact on the economy is inevitable. The government has a responsibility to introduce policies to control the situation.

Secondary Stakeholders

Future Generations: Although the ageing population affects the present, future generations will face an even more severe situation. As the proportion of elderly people compared to working Singaporeans increases, future generations will bear the burden of supporting the ageing population.

Businesses: With a growing elderly population and a shrinking number of young workers, businesses will be greatly affected. The decline in young, skilled workers means organizations will need to invest more in training older workers to adapt to modern technologies. Furthermore, as taxes rise, individual purchasing power decreases, impacting business sales.

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Implications of an Ageing Population:

Singapore has one of the highest proportions of elderly citizens in the world.

Society

As individuals age, their health declines, leading to an increased demand for healthcare. This will give rise to new industries and businesses involved in elderly care. It is important for society to provide services tailored to the needs of the elderly. The World Health Organization states that not all elderly individuals need healthcare; with proper care, they can live a healthy life. However, with such a low birth rate, Singapore may face challenges in attracting foreign talent to meet these demands.

Effects on Future Generations

As the elderly population grows, the demand for healthcare goods and services will increase, putting pressure on the government to provide these services. The financial cost will rise, which may result in higher taxes on society. Additionally, with a low birth rate and high dependency ratio, future generations will face a heavier burden to maintain the country’s economic growth.

Respect for the Elderly

The elderly have significantly shaped society through traditions, culture, and values. Their contributions have helped the country reach its current position. Therefore, they should receive proper care and respect. The government has initiated various programs to address the ageing population problem.

Business Implications

As the elderly population increases, the following factors will affect businesses:

1. Productivity of Organizations: A profitable organization seeks to expand productivity, but older workers often face bias and may not be hired as readily as younger employees. Despite the focus on cost efficiency, older workers bring valuable experience and wisdom that younger workers may lack. In times of recession, older workers often find themselves at the top of the retrenchment list, but their experience is invaluable to organizations.
2. Increased Demand for Healthcare and Services: Singapore has introduced many initiatives to improve healthcare for the elderly, not only in hospitals and clinics but also at home. For example, the government has implemented the Enhancement for Active Seniors program, which includes slip-resistant bathrooms and grab bars in flats.
3. Government Actions: The government has recognized that the increasing elderly population will negatively affect society and the economy. As a result, it is conducting surveys to gauge the physical and mental health of seniors.
4. Housing: The government has introduced various schemes to provide housing that meets the needs of elderly people, such as Multi-generation flats, Project Life, Granny Flats, and Studio Apartments, all designed with accessibility and safety in mind.
5. Transport: Public transport has been significantly improved to be more elderly-friendly.
6. Encouraging Re-employment: To support elderly employment, the government has implemented several policies. One example is the Tripartite Workforce policy introduced in October 2017, which assists companies in re-employing older workers. Companies are given financial support to implement these measures and subsidize re-training programs.
7. Ensuring Financial Stability: To help older people maintain sufficient savings, the government introduced the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme in 2007.
8. Healthcare: The Ministry of Health has introduced a Chronic Disease Management Programme, which takes a holistic approach to the treatment of diseases. Additionally, the ElderShield Scheme, launched in 2007, helps cover medical expenses for disabled seniors.

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Increased demand for health care and service

Singapore has taken so many initiatives and services to provide better health care to the older person not just in the hospitals and clinics but at homes also.

For example, the Enhancement for Active seniors program implemented by the government introduced a slip-resistant bathroom and grab installed bars within the flats.

• The Governments: The Government is implicating so many policies in the favor of an older person of the society but that can make the negative impact of an aging population on the business and organizations and that would result that those business owners get angry and relocate themselves. If that happens, that will again affect the government and country. Thus, the government should ensure that any policy related to the older person does not affect or upset the emotions of any business.
• Sum up: The aging population affects the whole economy of the country. As an increased number of older people, decrease the number of the workforce with a corresponding increase in the number of dependency ratio that would translate as a drop in the productivity of a business and directly lower down in the economy. In short, if nothing is done, our future generation will find difficulty to support the economy.
  

  The Future of Singapore

  By 2050, Singapore will have one of the fastest ageing populations. The number of citizens aged 65 and above is expected to increase significantly. This has serious implications for the country’s future.

  1. Economic Growth: With fewer young people entering the workforce, economic growth will slow down. As fewer individuals pay taxes, the government’s revenue will decrease, affecting the country’s economy.
  2. National Security: With fewer young, fit citizens, the country will have fewer people available to serve in the army or contribute to national defence. This could threaten the country’s security.

  Without immediate measures to address these issues, Singapore could see its growth stagnate and face challenges similar to those of past decades.

  Recommendations:

  • Empower senior citizens by enhancing their value within organizations.
  • Promote healthy ageing within small communities.
  • Educate the younger generation to value and care for elderly family members.

The action taken by the Singapore government:

The government has recognized the increase ratio in older people will make a negative effect on society and ultimately on the economy. The government is conducting many surveys to gauge the physical and mental health of seniors.

• Housing: The government has introduced many schemes to provide adequate housing that cater to the need of an elder person as their mobility, safety, and health.

Some schemes that the government has initiated are Multi-generation flats, Project Life, Granny Flats, Studio Apartments, barrier-free housing environment.

• Transport: Public transport has improved a lot and became elder-friendly
• Encouraging re-employment: To encourage the older people’s employment the government has made many policies, one of them was made in October 2017 the government has implemented the Tripartite workforce to assist companies in the implementation of the re-employment measures. To further encourage the implementation of re-employment schemes for older workers, companies were given financial support of up to $400,000 for policies that were placed in line with the re-employment legislation and also subsidized the re-training program.

To encourage the older employees to continue working, and to change the mindsets to accept older workers, Singapore’s government is putting in many efforts.

• Ensuring the financial stability of the older person: To ensure that every older person has sufficient savings the government has implemented a scheme Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) in 2007. (Reference:http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/Members/Gen-Info/Workfare.html)
• Healthcare: The Ministry of Health introduced a Chronic Disease Management Programme which emphasizes a holistic approach in the treatment of diseases. Other than this, in 2007 the Elder Shield Scheme for disabled people focused on increasing the affordability of medical services by paying $400 per month for up to 6 years.

In 2002 the concept of active aging was developed by the European Commission to ensure the self-sufficiency of older citizens after their retirement.

• The future: Singapore is the fastest ageing country. By the year 2050, the number of citizens aged 65 and above will show multiple increases from today. So what does this mean for our future?

Firstly, our economic growth will slow down. If the statistics remain the same the number of young and talented people will be very less and no more MNCs will remain interested in our country. The fewer the number of working people, the fewer individuals to pay taxes. The government will receive less money the ultimate effect on the economy and growth of our country.

Secondly, the older people in the country, the lessen number of people in the strength and lesser the defensive system of the country. We will have fewer young people to fill the ranks of the army, and fewer physically fit citizens to defend us. Our future and survival will be threatened.

If immediate short-term and long-term measures are not taken, we will move backward and will reach a rate of growth similar to what we had many decades ago.

Final Thoughts:

This essay provides a thorough overview of the challenges posed by Singapore’s ageing population. While some minor changes were made to improve clarity and readability, the content and tone remain largely unchanged. If you’d like to refine certain sections further, feel free to ask!