The Jakarta Post’s Post

Thailand's Labour Ministry has unveiled plans to hike the retirement age to 65 years for both the private and government sectors attributing it to the current improvements in health and medical advancements. The plan will put Thailand's retirement age in line with Switzerland and neighboring Singapore. Thailand's current retirement age for government officials is 60, while it is between 55 and 60 for the private sector.

Addressing China's Aging Workforce: Understanding the Proposed Retirement Age Delay. In recent discussions, Chinese policymakers have focused on a proposal to delay the country's retirement age. This significant shift aims to tackle the challenges posed by a rapidly ageing population and a shrinking workforce. Currently, China has one of the world's lowest retirement ages—60 for men and as low as 50 for certain female workers—established decades ago when life expectancy and economic conditions were vastly different. Why is This Change Necessary? 1. Demographic Shift: China's population is aging rapidly. With advances in healthcare, life expectancy has increased significantly, leading to a larger elderly population that depends on pension funds. 2. Economic Imperative: As the ratio of workers to retirees shifts, pressure on pension systems is growing. A delayed retirement age could help extend working years, increase pension fund contributions, and stabilize the system financially. 3. Workforce Sustainability: As the workforce shrinks, extending the retirement age could help maintain a stable labor pool, support economic growth, and reduce strain on younger workers. While the proposed changes aim to create a more sustainable economic future, they also bring concerns about job availability for older workers and potential age discrimination in employment. The proposal has sparked a robust public discourse, reflecting the complexity of implementing such reforms. Navigating these changes will require a delicate balance between ensuring economic stability and addressing the legitimate concerns of affected workers. It would be interesting to follow on how countries like Japan, Germany, Canada, Portugal, Spain and Italy will be dealing with the problem. My take here is that in Europe, we need a more consolidated approach instead of leaving the problem to the individual countries. #ChinaEconomy #AgeingPopulation #EconomicGrowth #DemographicChange #FutureOfWork

Did you know less than half the people of retirement age in Vietnam receive a pension? Here's a sobering fact - among people old enough to retire, only 41 percent in Vietnam, 33 percent in Singapore, and a staggering 15 percent in Indonesia actually receive a pension. The percentages are even lower in Cambodia and Laos at 6-7% only. Wondering about the fastest-aging regions in the world? Southeast Asia takes the third spot, following Europe/North America and Australia/New Zealand. Want to learn more about the state of pension planning worldwide? Check out the source link below for insightful data from Statista. Source: https://lnkd.in/e9FeKwmZ #PensionPlanning #Statista #RetirementAge #SoutheastAsia

People seem to like a good moan about the State Pension right? By the way a full State Pension for a couple is circa £23,000 pa. We're actually more fortunate than many parts of the world. Data from the World Health Organisation reveals where few people of retirement age actually receive a pension. This includes many countries in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia - despite the fact that the latter region is among the fastest-aging in the world. Among pension-age people, only around 41 percent in Vietnam, 33 percent in Singapore, 21 percent in the Philippines and 15 percent in Indonesia as well as just 6-7 percent in Cambodia and Laos were actually receiving a pension as of the latest available data, which for these countries is 2018-2020. At the same time, Eastern and Southeastern Asia was the third-fastest aging WHO region after Europe/North America and Australia/New Zealand. Southeast Asia alone ranked nine out of 22 behind the aforementioned blocs' subregions as well as Eastern Asia and South America. Source: https://lnkd.in/e6NyYTss #RetirementAge #Statista #PensionPlanning

From yesterday's news - The Singapore government's decided to raise the retirement age to 64 and the re-employment age to 69 by 2026. Here’s the lowdown on why this is happening: We’re Living Longer - Thanks to better healthcare, we're all living longer lives (yay, science!). But, living longer means we need more money to cover all those extra years, not just for the fun stuff like travel and yummy food, but also for serious needs like healthcare and assistance if we need it. Keeping Active - When people retire, they often stop working, which means they're not contributing to the economy anymore. By pushing the retirement and re-employment ages up, it encourages our seasoned folks to stay active and keep adding their valuable skills to our society. Saving Enough - Turns out, not everyone has enough saved up to chill out from age 65 onwards. Raising the age helps give us a bit more time to save up and ensures we’re all a bit more prepared for retirement. So, what’s the takeaway? It’s all about making sure we can enjoy our later years without stress, staying engaged in work we love for longer, and making sure we’ve got the funds to support ourselves as we age. Let’s get planning and make the most of this opportunity! #RetirementPlanning #FutureReady #FinancialWellness

Here are some of the things discussed in Parliament today: 1. Singapore to raise retirement age to 64, re-employment age to 69 in 2026 https://bt.sg/Spx5 2. Retaining CPF Special Account for those already aged 55 and up will create generational divide: Tan See Leng https://bt.sg/SpxU 3. Higher S$7,500 cap for salary support, wider eligibility for Career Conversion Programmes https://bt.sg/Spxw 4. Economic benefits from STB grant to Taylor Swift ‘significant’, outweigh amount distributed: Edwin Tong https://bt.sg/Spxi

Uzbekistan to Reform Pension System, Potentially Raising Retirement Age Uzbekistan is embarking on a comprehensive pension reform to modernize its system and address long-term challenges. A working group, led by Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Kuchkarov, is tasked with drafting the reform concept by March 2025. The group includes key government officials and international experts from the IMF, ADB, and ILO. The reform aims to ensure financial sustainability, social justice, and broader coverage, with only 38% of Uzbekistan’s population currently part of the pension system. The World Bank has recommended gradually raising the retirement age to 65 starting in 2025, to address demographic pressures and improve competitiveness. Public engagement will play a key role in shaping the reform, with proposals gathered through media and surveys. For more news about Uzbekistan: https://lnkd.in/eaPUzSfU #UzbekistanNews #KunUz #UzbekistanEconomy #CentralAsiaNews

My talk on 'Ageing, pension and long-term care in Indonesia' in case if you are interested. https://lnkd.in/eA5DTNzz

Hongkongers embrace mainland retirement, while mainland seniors battle pension problems While high costs in Hong Kong push seniors to seek a more affordable life in Guangdong, mainland residents must contend with the threat of inadequate pensions.

On 13 September, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress announced its "Decision on Implementing the Gradual Extension of the Statutory Retirement Age. On the same date, the State Council issued its "Measures on the Gradual Extension of the Statutory Retirement Age", which go into more detail on how the new retirement policy will be implemented. In light of #China's rapidly aging population, the Chinese government has been discussing for many years extending the statutory retirement age, which is low by global standards. China's state-run pension system is facing an imminent shortfall in funds due to the growing number of people enjoying pension benefits combined with the gradual reduction in the working age population. However, up until now, the government has been hesitant to implement what many observers say is a necessary reform, because of fear of a political backlash similar to what happened in France when it raised its retirement age. #bakermckenzie when it raised its retirement age.