June 2025
04Jun

Vietnam ends two-child policy as birth rate hits record low

Vietnam abolished a longstanding policy limiting families to having no more than two children as the nation grapples with a declining birth rate – posing a demographic crunch that could undermine future growth prospects. Under the new regulation approved by the National Assembly Standing Committee in Hanoi on June 3, couples will now have the right to decide when to have children, how many to have, and the spacing between births, the official Vietnam News Agency reported. The previous law allowed...

June 4, 2025
News,
Read more...

May 2025
28May

Has baby bust bottomed out? S. Korea sees 7% rebound in births in Q1

For the first time in years, South Korea is seeing signs of a turnaround in its record-low birth rate. According to new data released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of babies born in the first quarter of 2025 rose by 7.3 percent compared to the same period last year. That makes it the highest first-quarter increase recorded since the agency began tracking the figure in 1981. From January to March, 65,022 babies were born, up from 60,571 a year...

May 28, 2025
News,
Read more...
27May

South Africa. Treasurer accused of ‘double standard’ on PM’s $300k pension

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been accused of double standards by allowing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and veteran public officials to delay paying the new superannuation tax until retirement. Interest will be charged annually on the deferred tax liability at the long-term government bond rate, currently about 4.5 per cent. Read More @@afr

May 27, 2025
News, ,
Read more...
26May

China steps up support for social participation of seniors amid population aging

From promoting volunteer service and expanding lifelong learning opportunities to developing senior-friendly tourism offerings, China is taking proactive steps to enhance social engagement among the elderly and support their pursuit of active, meaningful lives. These measures, laid out in a guideline released recently by 19 government departments, came as the country grapples with a rapidly aging population. Home to the world's largest elderly demographic, China had over 310 million people aged 60 and above by the end of 2024, accounting for...

May 26, 2025
News, ,
Read more...
23May

A Canadian Approach to Rethinking Technology Design for Aging Populations

By Milena Head Older adults are the fastest-growing segment of the population. In Canada, one in five people are 65 or older, and by 2065, this will increase to more than one in four. Yet, despite their growing numbers, older adults often face exclusion and marginalization in technology design. This digital divide has significant consequences, leading to isolation, loneliness, frustration, and poor health outcomes, particularly when we intersect factors like lower socioeconomic status, race, gender, and immigrant status. Source: @SSRN

May 23, 2025
Aging, Articles, , , ,
Read more...
23May

Reforming pensions in Africa: Addressing coverage, payoutdisparities, and dementia outcomes for sustainable aging

By yprian M. Mostert, Catherine Ajalo & David Andai We appreciate the thoughtful feedback from scholars who suggest thatwe should have used life expectancy at age 45 or 25 to support ourargument for pension reforms in Africa. While life expectancy at thesespecific ages provides an average estimate of the remaining lifespan, itdoes not capture the nuances of individual survival probabilities, mak-ing it less reliable for certain analyses. This remains a debated topic inthe literature.1,2 Life expectancy at birth, on the...

May 23, 2025
Articles, Pension design, , , , , ,
Read more...
23May

Denmark. Denmark to raise retirement age to highest in Europe

Denmark is set to have the highest retirement age in Europe after its parliament adopted a law raising it to 70 by 2040. Since 2006, Denmark has tied the official retirement age to life expectancy and has revised it every five years. It is currently 67 but will rise to 68 in 2030 and to 69 in 2035. The retirement age at 70 will apply to all people born after 31 December 1970. The new law passed on Thursday with 81 votes...

May 23, 2025
News, ,
Read more...
23May

Social engagement linked to longer lifespan in older adults

A study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society indicates that social engagement may help older individuals live longer. In the study of 2,268 U.S. individuals aged 60 years and older who completed the Psychosocial and Lifestyle Questionnaires and provided blood samples in 2016, there was a strong association between engaging in social activities and a low risk of 4-year mortality. High social engagement was associated with a 42% lower mortality risk than low engagement. Specific activities, such as charity work, engaging...

May 23, 2025
News, ,
Read more...
22May

The Dual Burden of Housing and Care for Older Adults

As the first baby boomers turn 80 in the coming decade, a growing number of older households will face challenges paying for both housing and the supports and services they will need to remain in their homes. In a new paper out this week, we find that after paying for housing and basic living expenses, only 24 percent of single and partner households age 75 and over had sufficient income to afford a daily paid visit from a home health...

May 22, 2025
News, Slider
Read more...
21May

As Rural Populations Grow Older, Communities Increasingly Rely on Smaller Labor Force

Rural populations are shifting older as people live longer, birth rates decline, younger people move out of rural areas, and older people decide to spend their retirement years in rural settings. By the end of 2025, the youngest of the Baby Boom generation (born between 1946 and 1964)—a large generation in total numbers—will have turned 61 and the oldest reached age 79, meaning that many are now in or looking at retirement. Meanwhile, working-age (15–64 years) populations in rural counties...

May 21, 2025
News, Slider, ,
Read more...