Don’t negate the social roles of elderly Singaporeans
January 10th, 2009 | 
Author: By Fang Zhi Yuan, Chief Editor
Speaking at Singapore’s first Retirement Conference on Thursday (read report), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong suggested raising the retirement age from 62 to 65 to keep more elderly workers in the workforce. The aim is to help the elderly work as long as they can.
It is unlikely that Mr Lee’s message is intended for those elderly who are already in the workforce. Is he encouraging those who have already retired or unemployed to find a new job and continue working ?
There are Singaporeans who can afford to retire and there are some who are being supported by their children. For this group of Singaporeans who have contributed to the nation over the years, we should respect their wishes to take on other pursuits in life and truly enjoyed their golden years. Should they choose to return to the workforce, it should be entirely out of their own will to spend their spare time productively at work.
Mr Lee’s rationale that an aging population must necessitate more elderly in the workforce to keep the economy running is rather over-simplified and one-dimensional, negating the important role played by the elderly in both the family and society.
To quote from a Chinese adage: “To have an aged person in the family, is like having a treasure.” Grandparents who stayed at home take care and educate their grandchildren play an equally if not more important role than those earning an income at work.
While these stay-at-home nannies do not contribute to the economy, they offer intangible benefits such as grooming our young and giving the adults the peace of mind to concentrate on their work without any worries about leaving their children alone at home.
Given a choice, I believe a majority of Singaporeans will prefer having their parents around to care for their kids than employing a maid or putting them away in the childcare centers. Furthermore, either choice will incur additional expenses for the family which are likely exceed the daily allowance given to the grandparents should they remain at home.
The social benefits of having an elderly at home to manage and relieve the tensions within the household are immeasurable. With a store of life experience and wisdom accumulated over the years, the elderly are well positioned within the family to offer advice and counseling to young couples whose marital ties may be strained by the hustle and bustle of daily lives (of course it is a different story when they become a destabilizing force themselves)
I was brought up by my grandparents during my childhood days and the lifelong lessons they have imparted to me are still deeply etched in my memories. Without them recounting to me the hardships they had been through during the Japanese Occupation, the Emergency and the early years of independent Singapore, I would not be able to appreciate the sacrifices our forefathers had made for us and neither will I have a sense of belonging to this island called home.
Our elderly citizens are precious living preservers of our unique national and cultural heritage which far surpass any museums and historical sites. What better way to learn about Singapore’s past by listening with your very own ears from somebody who has lived during that forgotten era ? It will be a pity if the future generation is deprived of this wealth of knowledge and experience which the older generation is more than willing to share.
There are many things in life that can’t be reduced to mere digits and figures. For those elderly who have served the nation faithfully and wished to retire and enjoy life, we should encourage and support their endeavors instead of frowning upon them as frivolous pursuits which does not contribute to the nation’s GDP. Otherwise, we will become a country without a soul of its own.
The government has been overly generous with giving PRs and citizenships to foreigners to boost our population. They should keep in mind that few foreigners will be interested in spending the rest of their lives in a country which expects them to work for “as long as they can”.
What is the meaning of life ? Is it just work, work and work to earn a living till the day we are incapacitated by illness or death itself ?
In ancient India, men stopped work and leave their families when they reach the age of 50 for the forests to become wandering ascetics to meditate and find peace for their souls before they leave the world. I am not recommending this practice as an alternative to what has been espoused by our enlightened Prime Minister. What I am saying is, there is much more to life than just the blind and senseless pursuit for material possessions and comforts. Regardless of our individual beliefs and religions, I believe there is a spiritual dimension to human life which awaits us to explore.
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The government has been overly generous with giving PRs and citizenships to foreigners to boost our population. They should keep in mind that few foreigners will be interested in spending the rest of their lives in a country which expects them to work for “as long as they can”.
the garmen shld note. there is a huge housing bubble if they decide to “Sell out” that cld hurt…many many singaporeans and increase state social liabilities.
Thinking About Retirement? Time to Think About
Your Psychological Portfolio
Psychologists help people prepare for the retirement transition.
Findings
Talk of preparing for retirement usually brings to mind financial issues. While you may have put a lot of thought and effort into preparing your financial portfolio, how much thought have you given to preparing your psychological portfolio? Many people neglect this critical aspect of planning for their future and that is where psychologists can play a key role.
Counseling psychologist Nancy K. Schlossberg, EdD, came up with the psychological portfolio phrase as a way to get people to think of retirement as a career change…not only are you leaving something, you are about to begin something new. In a study of 100 retires, Dr. Schlossberg found that retirement is not one, but many transitions, that coping with these transitions depends on the following: the role of work and family in the life of the individual, the timing of retirement, the degree to which work has been satisfying, the degree to which retirement is planned for, the expectations one has about retirement, the degree to which a meaningful life is established and, of course one’s health and sense of financial security. In other words, there are many factors that contribute to helping people negotiate the retirement transition.
Based on her study with retirees, Dr. Schlossberg identified the following ways in which people approach retirement:
Continuers who continued using existing skills and interests;
Adventurers who start entirely new endeavors;
Searchers who explore new options through trial and error;
Easy Gliders who enjoy unscheduled time letting each day unfold;
Involved Spectators who care deeply about the world, but engage in less active ways;
Retreaters who take time out or disengage from life.
Michigan State University psychology professor Norman Abeles, PhD, has found that those people most happy in retirement enjoy a variety of activities, ranging from volunteer work, exercise, continuing education and so on. Many on the road to retirement plan to spend a lot of time traveling, but increasing or unexpected physical aliments may make extensive traveling difficult, so be flexible in planning for retirement activities.
A life course perspective-looking at an individual’s past, present, and future as a whole-explains why individuals differ in their retirement experience. Sociologist Phyllis Moen, with others, conducted a series of studies looking at the connection between retirement and physical and mental health and well-being. The studies examined what happens to people who exit the work role in a society where work is central to one’s identity and also how the retirement experience differed for men and women. In a 1999 study presented at the American Psychological Association annual meeting, Dr. Moen and psychologist Jungmeen Kim, PhD, found that retirement brings different rewards for husbands and wives. Noting that most couples do not retire at the exact same time, Drs. Kim and Moen found various levels of marital satisfaction and depression for different combinations of employment and retirement. Newly retired women tend to be more depressed than continuously retired or not-yet-retired women, especially if their husbands remained employed. Newly retired men experience more marital conflict than nonretired men. In addition, newly retired men with employed wives tend to show higher marital conflict than newly retired men with nonemployed wives. However, men who are retired and re-employed with wives who are not employed have a higher morale than couples where neither spouse is working.
Significance
The more than 70 million baby boomers that will begin to retire in the next decade will transform the notion of retirement. Their very numbers will force a rethinking of what retirement means and how people will live their lives. These numbers force us to identify those critical factors that will define a “healthy” retirement.
Practical Application
Based on this and other psychological research, the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Committee on Aging is initiating a “Road Map to Aging” project, which aims to inform people-no matter their age-about the new face of aging and retirement. The campaign will include user-friendly tips to allow people to plan for a successful retirement.
Dr. Schlossberg and other psychologists are also spreading the word on how to make retirement a beginning and not just an end. In her 2004 book Retire Smart, Retire Happy: Finding Your True Path in Life, the retired University of Maryland counseling psychology professor recommends that people attend pre-retirement seminars in which the psychological aspects of retirement are discussed in addition to the financial aspects.
Also, many universities are offering programs where retirees offer classes in their areas of expertise. One example is the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement, which is part of the University of North Carolina. Be sure to check your local university to see what is offered since these programs are proliferating.
Finally, remember that retirement is a transition and transitions take time. You have left a structured life and it might take time to “get a new life.” So be patient.