Taiwan is an aging society and elderly people are expected to account for 20 percent of the total population within 10 years, according to the National Development Council (NDC).
The council cited a population report as saying that the number of people in the 65-or-older age group is expected to increase from about 4.64 million currently to 6.42 million by 2025, which would mean one out of every five people in Taiwan would be in the group.
The one-to-five ratio means Taiwan would be a “hyper-aged” society, the council said.
The rapid growth in population of elderly people means that within 10 years, every three people on a payroll would be responsible for the financial support of one retiree, the report said.
The ratio is expected to increase by 2040, when the number of people in the 65-or-older agegroup would on average see two working people supporting one retiree, the report said, adding that the fall in the number of working people would be exacerbated by the declining birth rate.
A separate report jointly released by the council and the Ministry of Health and Welfare indicates that because of the aging society, elderly people who are disabled and have lost ability to take care of themselves account for 20 percent of the aged population, or about 572,000 people, a number that is expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2031.
Cathay Life Insurance Co, one of the nation’s largest life insurers, said that as the number of disabled elderly people is expected to grow, people should pay close attention to long-term care services and buy appropriate insurance policies to reduce the financial burden when they get older.
In addition to rising demand for long-term care, market analysts said wealth management is important.
The public will have to start managing their wealth as early as possible to keep sufficient funds on hand for a comfortable retirement, said Sheng Chi-ying (盛季瑩), a manager of Taishin International Bank’s wealth management division.
According to an estimate by CTCB Bank, for a person who wants to retire at age 60, they will have to have saved no less than NT$11 million (US$335,345).
They will need about NT$40,000 in disposable funds to meet demand based on statistics that show people in Taiwan have an average of 23 years of life after retirement, the bank said.
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry