TO continue from my Monday column on the elderly and the pension schemes used in Southeast Asian countries...
A friend of mine recently hit 60. At a meeting we shouted “Welcome to the club!” and asked to see her senior citizens I.D.
She was waiting for the proper signatures, she said, and these were taking too long. So excited was she that she even held a big bash on her birthday and requested guests to dress in red.
So there we were, singing paeans of allelujah about our benefits as senior citizens. Free movies at the bigger malls on assigned days of the week. Free three-hour parking in hospitals, malls, etc.
We recognized the sour notes in this benefits packages. Some restaurants are their unscrupulous hold-outs, refusing to include the 8% VAT discount. So, we’ve boycotted these establishments and spread the negative advertisement.
Still, there have been pleasant discoveries. Some restaurants give the 20% discount even for take-outs. Among these is the Kusina Uno along F. Cabahug St., once featured as the best place for eats in Cebu operating 24/7.
Foreigners who read this must wonder why we’re even writing about these “benefits.” Yet, in a country like ours where getting one’s just reward is not a foregone conclusion, we learn to appreciate little blessings.
Unless the world, including the Philippines, will be miraculously proactive, these little blessings could go nil.
This, because as the world population is growing, it is ageing as well.
In 2014, people aged 60 and above numbered 868 million. By 2050, they will have swelled to two billion.
Meaning: In 2014, this group comprised 12% of the world population. In 2030, that will grow to 16%, and in 2050, to 21 %. So declares Age International, the only UK charity working for and with older people in developing countries.
Its recent book “Facing the facts: The truth about ageing and development” shares some startling revelations. First, 62 % of these older people live in developing countries.
Second, these 62 % will have grown to 80% by year 2050.
Third, for the first time in human history, the old will outnumber the young (under 16) by 2047.
Fourth, only one out of every four older people in low- and middle-income countries receives a pension.
The latter arises from such contentious issues as who deserve pensions, and should these be employment-based or contribution-based?
If employment-based, only a fraction of those in formal employment can avail. Those in the informal sector and the wider population are excluded.
If contribution-based, why see such terms as “younger,” “productive age,” and “older” as separate and isolated, losing sight of a person throughout his whole life course?