ABOUT THE RESEARCH
Ready for 100? Preparing for longevity in Singapore is an Economist Intelligence Unit report commissioned by Prudential Singapore. It is part of the Ready for 100 research programme that examines the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for Singapore’s residents, employers, healthcare practitioners and policymakers as people live longer.
Singapore, a city state with 5.6m people, has one of the fastest ageing populations in the world. The number of those aged over 65 is expected to reach 900,000 by 2030, and a rising number are living to 100. This is a trend media outlets label the “silver tsunami” and one that is both a challenge and an opportunity for Singaporeans. For this rising longevity to be a positive experience, people in Singapore need to build strength in four key areas of life that are known to contribute to the length and quality of one’s years. These are supportive relationships, health and wellness, financial stability, and work.
In relationships: Singapore is very family oriented. This structure provides happiness and an important safety net for the population in times of need—three-quarters say they would be able to find some or all of the support they need in an unexpected life event. However, family members can also place financial and emotional pressure on one another. One way to address this is for people to engage with a more diverse set of communities and networks outside of their family.
In health and wellness: Singapore’s residents are largely aware of the importance of eating better and exercising regularly. They also have good intentions to do so, but urban living, a strong food culture and some conflicting definitions of what is “good” and “healthy” contribute to a gap between intent and actual habits. In reality, residents, on average, exercise below the recommended time per week and consume an excess of the recommended intake of sugar and processed grains. This is contributing to rising rates of dementia, heart disease and diabetes—something people need to address with more effort, understanding and preventative proactiveness.
In financial health: Singapore’s residents are strong savers, with nearly eight out of ten residents having the habit of saving at least a little, but even the most ardent saver will struggle to save enough to not have to work between the standard retirement age of 62 and 100. As a result, residents need to reimagine how they plan their finances for older age. This includes investing as much in building their financial assets as they do in extending professional assets and careers.
In work: Singaporean workplaces are youth oriented. To help extend people’s working lives, the government has mandated that employees cannot be forced to retire before the age of 62, and that eligible employees can be re-employed up to the age of 67. However, to take advantage of these additional working years, ageing professionals need to have vision and courage to reimagine their careers and plan to work longer. Technology provides a number of opportunities for people to pursue new industries and provide education and reskilling opportunities, but it is only as useful as the initiative people take. Currently, a proactive attitude at work appears to be lacking. Only four out of ten residents say they actively seek new challenges at work.
Despite being in her seventies, Professor Chan Heng Chee is as busy as she’s ever been. The former ambassador to the US spends half of her day as the chairwoman of the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities, and the other half as ambassador-at-large for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore. “But actually I tell people it ends up 75% and 75% so I work long days,” says Ms Chan, who also sits on four other boards. “I’m doing what I want to do, and every time I’m discovering more of what I want to do and can do.”
She is a prime example of the proactiveness that leaders in Singapore are encouraging as they chart new waters in ageing. The city state of 5.6m people has one of the fastest ageing populations in the world, with the number of those aged over 65 expected to reach 900,000 by 2030. Furthermore, a rising number of Singaporeans are living to 100. In 1950 just 50 people were 100, but in 2015 it was 1,100, and this rate continues to rise. The media labels this trend the “silver tsunami” and businesses are already taking note. The silver market alone is predicted to reach US$3.3trn in the region by 2020, according to the 3rd Asia Pacific Silver Economy Business Opportunities Report.
However, living longer isn’t an experience for which the average resident of Singapore feels ready. In a recent EIU survey, over 1,200 residents were asked if they wanted to live to 100. Less than a third say yes. That number halves for those aged 55-64 years. With so few wanting to live to 100, one must consider whether the fear of old age is overtaking the sense of possibility.
“We are always seeing ageing as a problem. We should see ageing as potential—the possibilities, wisdom, emotional stability, passion and authenticity,” says Laurence Lien, chairman of the Lien Foundation, a philanthropy group dedicated to eldercare provision. “But also possibilities in terms of what older people can do for themselves as co-creators, consumers, and so on.” For longevity to be a positive experience in this way, people in Singapore need to build strength in four key areas of life that are known to contribute to the length and quality of their years. These are supportive relationships, health and wellness, financial stability, and work.
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Prudential Singapore is one of the country’s leading life insurers serving the needs of Singapore’s residents with well-rounded financial solutions in Protection, Savings and Investment.
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