UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
Retirement issues are once again in the news. A House bill proposes lowering the optional retirement age to 56. Another bill seeks to scrap the mandatory retirement age, which now stands at 65 years of age. This topic stirs up personal feelings for me, having been mandatorily retired from government service several years ago, when I felt I had more to contribute to my chosen field of work.
In reality, I am still practicing in private hospitals, so I don’t have the issues facing a completely retired individual, like having plenty of idle time and boredom. The latter situation can lead to more rapid mental deterioration as cognitive abilities are not exercised.
The Philippines is now experiencing a decline in fertility rate: from 2.7 in 2017 to 1.9 in 2022. It is well below the replacement fertility level of 2.1 children per woman. The trend is expected to continue, and in the future, we will be facing a demographic winter, where the elderly will outnumber the young. This phenomenon is now occurring in many developed countries, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and many countries in Europe, where there is an urgent need for economic workers. Some have resorted to enticing skilled workers and professionals, particularly in the health sector, to work in their countries to stave off economic contraction and social unrest.
Currently though, the Philippines is in a demographic sweet spot, where there are 70 million Filipinos of working age. There are opportunities to reap the benefits of this phenomenon, though more job creation needs to be done to reduce the under-/unemployment rate that currently bedevils the country. There is the issue of poor academic achievement in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects, leaving many unable to compete in the job market. This is where, I think, the senior population can step in to fill the gaps left by these issues.
Many retirees, who are still healthy and can continue working, can serve as temporary place-holders until the younger generations are capacitated to take over the positions they hold. Their extensive experience, better decision-making, and wisdom can be harnessed and passed on to their younger counterparts.
Many of my contemporaries are still productive and work either in a full- or part-time capacity. Some are in the health professions; others are consultants or owners of various businesses. There really is no set age to stop doing what they love to do if they can still do it well. The good thing is, seniors can work without committing to a full-time job. Perhaps the only constraint is intellectual disability such as memory loss or dementia.
Increasingly, employers are realizing the importance of hiring or retaining older workers. They are likely to be more loyal, have a strong work ethic, and exhibit a positive attitude. Contrast these with the GenXers and Millennials, many of whom are characterized as fickle, flighty, and feeling self-entitled.
Working later in life has many benefits. One can avoid the loneliness that comes with retirement. Continuing to work helps with mental stimulation and prevents the early onset of dementia. A study shows that delaying retirement for just one year after age 65 can lower the risk of death by 11 percent. Seniors who work tend to feel younger and have reduced the risk of depression by 40 percent. It leads to greater social well-being, with more opportunities for social contact and community involvement.
Retirees can explore different career opportunities, which they could not afford to do in their younger years when they had to support families. Of course, every year of work will add more money to the retirement savings and delay spending it.
It should be a win-win situation for both employers and older workers. However, it seems to be standard practice now in private corporations to offer early retirement to workers who have been with the company for 10-15 years, regardless of their experience and productivity, in favor of hiring new workers at lower salaries. This is counterproductive, as the new hirees will need to be trained anew, and they will not be as seasoned and experienced. The offshoot may be a dip in productivity and even untoward incidents resulting in bad publicity for the company.
At any rate, when demographic winter does set in, many older folk will have to “un-retire” and contribute to the country’s economy, since government and private companies will have no choice in the matter. Scrapping the mandatory retirement age will then sound like a good idea.