👴Time for A Grey Revolution?

Very soon the world is going to look more grey than black (in terms of hair) and India needs to think of ways to capitalise this greying population.

Want to know the secret to eternal life? 

A village in Japan has unlocked it. 

The Japanese village of Okinawa has the largest population of centenarians (people who live to be 100 years old). 

Yes, science has made it possible for people to live longer now. But our birth rates are going down. 

So, who's going to take care of all the oldies? Who's going to run the economy? 

---

😥 Dealing with the Pains of Old Age

By 2030, one-sixth of the world's population is going to be over the age of 60! 

So, this chunk of the population won't be able to directly contribute to the economy. 

Plus, they will also have to be taken care of. 

And if countries are unable to meet these goals, their growth rate could decline. 

Providing for a such a large chunk of the population could also drive some countries into debt.

So, countries need to rethink the retirement plans for their citizens. 

And while countries like India are still figuring this out, Japan has mastered this. 

---

👍 Retirement Planning Done Right

More than 25% of Japan's population is over the age of 65 and this is set to go to 40% by 2060! 

So, Japan has been preparing to take care of its ageing population for quite some time now. 

It launched the Long Term Care Insurance plan in 2000.

This plan provides caretakers for people above the age of 65. The Japanese government takes care of 90% of the cost of the caretaker. 

Where does the Japanese government get this money from? 

Simple: from the people. 

The Japanese government makes people above 40 pay for this insurance scheme. 

And for this group of people, it is kind of an investment as the plan will help them in the near future. 

Now, this plan does have a flaw. Since Japan's young population is declining, the government may soon face a shortage of caretakers.

It is trying to solve this by encouraging women, who traditionally don't participate in the economy, to take on these roles.

It is also focusing on research and development to create robots that can do this job in the future. 

What's more, Japan is also making public infrastructure age-friendly. 

Since a huge chunk of the population is facing old age issues, Japan is converting schools into old-age homes and making public transport more comfortable and accessible for old people. 

Now, Singapore has decided to take a super innovative approach to this problem. 

It does not just want to take care of the elderly, but also wants the economy to grow as its citizens grow old. 

So, it has launched SkillsFuture, a program that gives every Singaporean $500 to reskill themselves right from the age of 25. This amount is recharged at regular intervals so learning never stops. 

This way, people keep learning new skills as they grow older and can switch to other freelancing jobs or launch their own businesses once they officially retire. 

Great initiative, right? 

South Korea is also taking a cue from this. 

It currently has the lowest fertility rate in the world: 0.84 births per woman. 

So, it has decided to take money allocated for primary education and reinvest it into reskilling the elderly population.

Looks like we're soon going to be seeing a flood of greying teachers, entrepreneurs and businessmen in South Korea and Singapore. 

And this is something that India should also aim for. 

---

📈 India's Growing Greying Population

India is considered a relatively young country. But by 2061,one-fourth of our population will be above the age of 60! 

Taking care of this population will become a huge challenge, especially because we don't have any proper policies or infrastructure in place. 

The worst part? Indians are notoriously bad at retirement planning. Only 6% of our population is covered under pension plans right now. 

So, 52% of our elderly population is completely dependent on their kids for their livelihood. 

This could put too much economic pressure on the kids. This economic pressure means the kids also end up saving little for retirement and this vicious cycle continues. 

Now, India also has some schemes (mostly on the state level) that help our greying population. 

For instance, the government pays 90% of the costs of building old-age homes. It has also launched welfare schemes to provide food and daily care items to the elderly. 

But that's not enough. To ensure that this greying population doesn't become a burden but rather a pillar for the economy, we need to reskill them and make them financially independent. 

In a country like India, which spends only around 4.5% of its GDP on education, this is going to be a challenge. 

So, will India be able to overcome this challenge? 

---

⚡In a line: India needs to strengthen its greying population if it wants to see continued economic growth.

💡Quick question: What else can India do to solve this ageing population problem? 

---

Share this with your friends via WhatsApp or Twitter and help them grow!

See you tomorrow :)

If you are coming here for the very first time: Don’t forget to join us on WhatsApp to get daily updates! 👇

---