Malaysia is ageing, raise retirement age to 65 gradually, says World Bank
Rapid ageing will be one of the most crucial megatrends affecting Malaysia in the coming decades, raising policy challenges in areas such as employment, income security, health care, and aged care, the World Bank has said.
In its report titled “A Silver Lining: Productive and Inclusive Ageing for Malaysia”, it said a gradual increase of the retirement age to 65 was needed as the country’s institutional framework for providing income security for older persons remained largely unchanged in spite of rapid ageing.
Malaysia now has 7% or more of its population aged 65 and above, which makes us an “ageing society” according to international convention.
“After 24 years, it will become an ‘aged society’ when this number reaches 14%. And 12 years after that, the country will become ‘super-aged’, with the share reaching 20% of the population.”
The World Bank said historically, families often financed the needs of older persons who were no longer able to work after they reach 70 years but with societal changes that are breaking this trend, these citizens were becoming increasingly vulnerable and needed urgent attention.
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