Implications of Ageing Population Not Fully Grasped

S'poreans yet to grasp 'new reality'

An ageing population, slower growth will have consequences: Shanmugam

By Walter Sim, The Straits Times, 5 Nov 2012

SINGAPOREANS have not fully grasped the implications of an ageing population and a slowing economy, said Law and Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam yesterday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of wellness programmes for Nee Soon GRC, a maturing estate where one in five residents is a senior citizen, he said about ageing: "It's a serious point, I mean, it's not easy to bring across to the population, but you have got to sit back and think about all the consequences."



Mr Shanmugam, who is also an MP for Nee Soon GRC, mentioned economic and social consequences, health-care costs and a possible "impact on our entire support system" as issues Singaporeans should actively think about.

Citing government projections that two people will be working to support one retired person by 2030, down from eight to one today, he emphasised the need to ensure that senior citizens are healthy, have good diets, exercise and have positive emotional well- being.

"We need the outreach, we need the education, we need to provide the space, we need to organise the activities," he said.

The People's Association launched its wellness programme in March 2008 to encourage senior citizens to be mentally, physically and socially active. There are 62 wellness sites now, with plans for 25 more by March.

The minister added that there is a need to bring medical services closer to the elderly by ramping up home-nursing or community- nursing programmes.

On the economy, he discussed the repercussions of low growth in Singapore becoming a "fact of life".

Labour chief Lim Swee Say last Thursday said Singaporeans should brace themselves for a "new reality" of slower job growth of 2per cent a year for the next decade.

Mr Shanmugam highlighted the challenges that the Government will have to manage even as neighbouring countries enjoy high growth.

These include fewer opportunities for young people, even though 40 to 50 per cent of the population will be degree-holders by 2020; industries moving out of Singapore; and an overall reduced dynamism in the economy.

"At the end of the day, our external economy is several times larger than our internal economy. We're hugely impacted by what happens outside," he said.