Taiwan’s aging population and declining birthrate have become serious concerns for the nation. The National Development Council forecast that Taiwan would by 2025 be a super-aged society, in which 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older, and that the nation’s “demographic dividend” would end by 2028, and the working-age population — aged 15 to 64 — would for the first time account for less than two-thirds of the population.
An increase in the proportion of elderly people would burden the healthcare system, while the falling share of working-age people would jeopardize Taiwan’s productivity and economic development.
The nation’s demographic structure is changing remarkably fast. Council data show that it took Taiwan only 25 years to move from being an “aging society” in 1993, with 7 percent of the population aged 65 or older, to an “aged society” in 2018, when more than 14 percent were 65 or older. Becoming a “super-aged” society is expected to take only seven years.
In comparison, council data show that it took Germany 75 years to progress from being an aging society to a super-aged society, while it took France 154 years. Canada would undergo the development within 79 years, the US would take 92 years, the UK 97 years and Norway 142 years, the council estimated.
Even in Japan, which has the world’s highest proportion of people aged 65 or older, it took 24 years to shift from an aging society to an aged society, and another 11 years to become a super-aged society, the council said.
With the development being so fast in Taiwan, there is little time for the government to adapt, and its planning and implementation of policies to address the problem seem inadequate. Many candidates for the local elections on Nov. 26 have not only called on the government to address the issue more urgently, but also announced their own plans.
However, most candidates’ plans are focused on raising pensions or allocating more budget for long-term care and other welfare programs. There is little focus on how Taiwan can create opportunities for senior citizens or develop their potential. The mainstream thinking of Taiwanese is that senior citizens are a liability rather than an asset to society, and candidates’ policy plans mostly focus on caring for elderly citizens, instead of enabling them to contribute to society and the economy.
It is unknown how effective a one-off allowance would be to help improve the well-being of older people, but it is certain that such payments would weigh on local governments’ budgets and restrict room for other policies related to senior citizens’ participation in the economy, labor market and society.
Due to their experience, knowledge and skills, senior citizens can play an important role in economic development. Retaining more people aged 65 or older in the workforce might enhance overall labor productivity. Older people can also make key contributions to society through volunteering — a potential that could be unlocked through support programs from public agencies and community-based institutions.
It is key to facilitate older people’s participation in lifelong learning to help them embrace new technology and improve their ability for social adjustment. This would not only delay the pace of population aging and improve quality of life, it would also enable Taiwan to make better use of medical resources and leverage the positive contributions of older people.
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