Aging Population Essay

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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a person who is equal to or older than 60 years old will be defined as “elderly” or “older person”. The latest population projections announced by the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong (HK)’s population will increase to 8.72 million in 2031. The life expectancy in HK becomes much longer these days due to high standards of public health, improvement of health care and the success of anti-smoking campaigns. The life expectancy for male and female is projected to reach 82 and 88 in 2031. The proportion of older persons (aged 65 and above) will rise from 11% in 2001 to 31% in 2031. HK’s population is aging fast; nearly 1 in every 3 people in the city will be 65 or older in 2041, said by the Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who is also the Steering Committee on Population Policy chairperson. Therefore, we are not just having an aging population, but we are having an aging society. There is not an effective income protection scheme for retirement in HK. Take the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) as an example. It does not cover housewives, non-working population and very low-pay workers. This scheme is meaningless to them. In fact, the coverage for retirement income protection schemes is very low, only 16.7% population who are aged 60 or above is covered. In other words, 83.3% do not have any retirement protection. Luckily, there is a social security in HK which provides basic and special needs for community members who are in need of financial and material assistance. Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme is one of the examples. It provides a safety net for those who cannot support themselves financially for various reasons such as old age and bring their income up to a prescribed level to meet their basic needs. It should satisfy both income and asset test. Apart from the CSSA

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