Without aid for seniors, we're heading for CATASTROPHE

Three years from now, it’s been calculated, the elderly will outnumber the children, for the first time in the nation’s history. Seven years from now, one out of every five citizens will be old. Drastic changes in every aspect of life are imminent.

The number of older people will keep growing, their segment of the population swelling, eventually forcing the government to react urgently, quite apart from preparations it has already made for the immense demographic shift. Since 2002 we have had in place a master plan for the elderly that extends to 2021. Past the halfway point, our preparedness is far from realised.

Government and civic buildings and mass transit systems still lack the facilities required for elderly access. Elevators, adapted restrooms and ramps are still not required by law. There are still only about a dozen state-run homes for seniors, enough to accommodate perhaps 1,000 people – far less than current demand, let alone increasing need in the near future.

Compounding this dire situation is the inability of most Thais to save for the future. Financial experts have recently again been expressing concern about the average citizen’s insufficient savings. Seniors will simply be unable to make ends meet, they warn, unless a long-term fiscal plan is put in place to assist them in their millions. The National Economic and Social Development Board has determined that 42 per cent of elderly Thais already lack the income to support themselves. 

 In these regards Thailand falls well behind other Asian countries with rapidly ageing populations. Singapore and Japan both ensure that their seniors are well prepared financially. According to a 2013 report by US firm Towers Watson, a specialist in human resources, Thailand’s pension assets represented 19 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) that year, compared to 65 per cent in Singapore and 62 per cent in Japan. The government’s current income subsidy for every Thai over the age of 60 can hardly be called realistic, given the cost of living. It ranges from a scandalous Bt600 a month to a paltry Bt1,000. 

We were somewhat heartened when the Yingluck Shinawatra government announced a new beneficial scheme, the National Savings Fund (NSF), the country’s first retirement-savings plan, only to be let down when it was shelved. The current interim government wants to revive the idea and planned to launch it this month, but another delay has intervened.

The NSF, if implemented, would be of help to all Thais, including unregistered labourers, and would crucially guarantee elderly citizens a more comfortable future.

The NSF would cost the government – cost taxpayers – about Bt20 billion a year. Yet this amounts to a drop in the bucket compared to what will be needed in the long term. The coming expenditures in taking care of the elderly population will be enormous, on healthcare, infrastructure, transportation, the necessary fluctuations in business priorities, and much more. 

The clock is ticking nonetheless, and if the government doesn’t speed efforts to meet the requirements of its master plan, the social and economic fallout will be severe. This greying society represents a whole new ballgame for both the state and the private sector, but it’s a game that must be won.