Wolf Money(Portfolio update for end Nov 2023)part 1
(Image credit: benchmarkseniorliving)
Old is gold
I never quite understand the true meaning of the phase until I reached a more advanced age now. We treat old paintings and old historical artefacts with great care. Old wines and vintage cars commanded great value at auctions. It is one's great fortune to receive a grandfather’s bequest of a Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing. A model was sold for USD $6.8m in 2022 which was bought in the ‘50s for slightly less than USD$ 7,000 or USD $71,000 equivalent in today's money. In recent times, I can’t pass a week without my government reminding me about the ageing society issue having an impact on our economy. In the recent announcement of forward sg, the government announced a broad range of initiatives to have seniors aged well in our society. There are a few points which I would like to talk about from my own observations.
Assisted living/daycare facilities
There is a lack of affordable assisted living/daycare facilities for seniors who don’t have caregivers to look after them. Some seniors in pink of health, only require basic help from community living, like providing a healthy meal or having someone to do errands for them. The lack of affordable assisted living/daycare is going to be a problem in the future as more people choose to stay single or married without children. The only option is for seniors to check themselves into an assisted living or daycare facility. More affordable assisted living/daycare facilities should be built. I, myself, have considered the option of checking into an assisted living facility in my twilight years if my son is incapable of taking care of me. Of course, I would be glad if he choose to take care of my wife and me when we grew old, but we are realistic and modern about our thinking. There is simply not enough younger generation to take care of the growing numbers of seniors in Singapore. More affordable day care for seniors should be built.
Ageism
The rise of ageism in the workplace is a worrying trend. This is just my observation, no malice in my commentary. Older workers above the age of 40s face difficulty finding a replacement job paying comparable salary once they get retrenched or decide to quit their job. Some employers just wouldn’t consider staff above a certain age. Through my conversation with a couple of friends. One had to drive PHV to make ends meet after he lost his job due to retrenchment. Another had to engage in hourly paid part-time jobs as a stop gap measure. Another friend is having difficulty moving up the corporate ladder as management prefer to promote younger employees. Some younger employees who joined the company later had moved above his corporate ranking and pay. He was lamenting about his company overlooking him for the next promotion. I can vouch for my friend to be a very competent and experienced person for the job, he has good work ethic and high EQ. No one deserves a promotion and a pay rise more than him.
Companies that engage in age-discrimination practices should be taken to task. Legislation on age discrimination should be enhanced and enforced. If racism and gender discrimination are not acceptable anywhere, why should ageism be tolerated in our workplace? The top complaint to MOM last year was age discrimination. In the future, workers might be in short supply when the Singapore population ages. Taking a cue from Japan, there is a shortfall of 11 millions workers by 2040 in her economy. Currently, 40% of Japanese corporations employ workers aged 70 and above. Even that didn’t stop the shortfall. With Singapore facing a shrinking workforce like Japan, companies having a pro-middle age and senior workforce recruitment policy is wise HR practice.
(Credit CNA: The contributor of the article faced ageism during his job search)
As we move towards a super aged society with 1 in 4 will be 65 years and above by 2030. If Ageism or passive ageism in the workplace are allowed to take root, there will likely be a huge social problem on our hands as more and more middle age worker can’t find adequate paying job to save up for retirement. There is a growing number of seniors with outstanding mortgages that need to be serviced beyond their retirement age. The problem needs to be addressed urgently. If the older workers can’t solve the underemployment problem, the society and the government have to bear the burden ultimately.
Longevity Fortune Fund
If I may also suggest a fund to help seniors, let’s call it a “longevity fortune fund”, something like an auto payroll deduction similar to a cdc contribution from payroll with an option to opt out. There are 3.8m active workers in Singapore. If 3m accounts each contributing $1 dollar each month into the fund, $36m can be raised each year to help an additional 10000 seniors age 75 and above in need with an additional monthly payment of $300 on top of whatever subsidy they may receive from the government. If the government did a dollar to dollar matching, 10000 extra seniors could benefit.
Silver opportunities
Society’s views on an ageing society should be positive. The increase in longevity should be seen as a happy outcome, as people are living well and living better than the generation before. It shouldn’t be all doom and gloom. With age, comes wisdom; with age, comes experience. Ageing can be an opportunity for economic growth. A comprehensive silver industry can grow around seniors. A co-operative society operating day care run by healthy seniors is one example. Tour companies run by seniors in support of the traveling needs of seniors who have the money and time to go on a well deserved cruise can be another. The quality of our society is determined by how well we treat the disadvantaged and our seniors. I hope policy makers can address those concerns. Older employees are more than capable of just cleaning the tables in hawker centres, doing security work or driving taxis. There are examples of senior workers contributing to their ex-company due to workforce shortages. One example is SMRT inviting experienced rail engineers to impart their skills to younger engineers. Retired bus captains answering the call of duty for SBS transit to cover the shortage of bus drivers during covid 19. Older workers can make a difference to our economy. The attitude of society towards elderly workers needs to change. It is my wish to see elderly workers be accorded the same CPF contribution as their younger counterparts from their employers to address retirement inadequacy among senior workers. An equitable society starts with a policy that treats everyone equally and fairly. I foreshadowed in N years, with advancement in medical, the rise in AI and robotics, levelling the playing field in the job market, older workers might be the hottest recruitment for any employers. Having a job, be respect for their work and a feeling of being wanted by society can have a positive mental wellbeing for the seniors, which in itself is the best medicine any doctor in the world can prescribed.
To be continued….
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