April 2026
21Apr

The Gray Tide: Latin America’s Demographic Transformation

For more than 25 years, Jardín Sonrisitas (“Little Smiles Kindergarten”) taught kids their ABCs in Villa del Cerro, a working-class portside district in Uruguay’s capital. But in December, the beloved kindergarten closed: one of three local creches to shut in as many years. Today, the building’s shutters are pulled down, its outdoor play equipment piled to one side. The reason is simple, said Catalina Clara, 38, whose six-year-old daughter was one of the last four students: “People aren’t having many...

April 21, 2026
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16Apr

SMU launches Longevity Societies and Economies Institute to advance knowledge and innovation for Singapore’s longevity transition

Singapore Management University (SMU) has launched the SMU Longevity Societies and Economies Institute (LSEI) which will focus on the economic and societal transitions needed for economies and societies to continue thriving despite an ageing population. The Institute was launched on 14 April by Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for National Development, at the World Ageing Festival 2026, organised by Ageing Asia with SMU as the Co-host and Academic Pillar Partner. Singapore is already...

April 16, 2026
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13Apr

Vietnam taps silver economy to drive growth amid rapid aging

The silver economy offers a new perspective on population ageing: instead of treating it as a burden, it is seen as a major economic opportunity. In the global development landscape, the “silver economy” is no longer an unfamiliar concept but an inevitable trend. For Vietnam, building an economic ecosystem that adapts to rapid population ageing is not only a social welfare solution but also a gateway to a new, sustainable and humane growth model. The silver economy offers a new perspective...

April 13, 2026
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10Apr

The Impact of Ageing on the Fiscal Sustainability of EU Health Care Systems: Projections and Policy Responses

By Boriana Goranova & Santiago Calvo Ramos  This Economic Brief analyses the effects of the expected population ageing on the public expenditure on health care in the EU, discusses the different policy options and finally describes the activities in this field by the European Commission. Get the report here  

April 10, 2026
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07Apr

Old-age pensions in the Pacific: Ensuring dignity in later life

In Fiji, the Social Pension Scheme pension is having a huge impact on reducing poverty, with analysis suggesting poverty among older persons would be around 40 per cent higher without the scheme. The pension supports more than 58,000 older persons and, for many households, this support is essential. A recent community-level survey of 1,365 pension recipients found that 72 per cent are the sole income earners within their households. At the household level, the impacts are tangible. “The pension enables recipients to transition...

April 7, 2026
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01Apr

The Global Centenarian Surge: How 4 Million People Over 100 Will Reshape Markets and Policy

A demographic shift is quietly underway: the population of people aged 100+ is set to jump sharply this century. US centenarians are projected to rise from about 101,000 in 2024 to roughly 422,000 by 2054, while globally the cohort could swell from ~722,000 today to nearly 4 million by mid‑century. That growth will affect pension systems, healthcare spending, workforce patterns, consumer markets and political influence, with hotspots in China, the US, Japan, India and Thailand. The article outlines the...

April 1, 2026
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01Apr

Gold’s worst month in years tests its role as a pension hedge

Gold just posted its worst month in more than a decade even as prices bounced on Tuesday, underscoring how the Iran war, inflation fears and higher‑for‑longer rates are hitting one of the most widely used hedging assets. Reuters said that the spot gold rose 3.2 percent to $4,652.31 per ounce by 1:31 pm EDT, the highest level since March 20, while US gold futures settled 2.7 percent higher at $4,678.60. CNBC reported that gold futures still fell more than 10 percent in March, marking their biggest monthly decline since June 2013...

April 1, 2026
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01Apr

Italy’s population stops shrinking after 12 years, thanks to migration

Italy's population has stabilised after 12 ‌years of decline, with immigration almost entirely offsetting a shrinking number of births, while life expectancy continues to rise, national statistics agency ISTAT said on Tuesday. Preliminary data showed the ​resident population stood at 58.94 million on January 1 this year, virtually ​unchanged from a year earlier, ISTAT said in its annual ⁠demographic report. "Italy remains a country where only very positive net migration can offset ​a largely negative natural change and where the population...

April 1, 2026
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March 2026
30Mar

Smartphones taking over the lives of Singapore’s seniors

It has happened several times over the past year. Hilda, 32, has found her 77-year-old father nodding off at the dining table, his smartphone propped upright, the same short video looping endlessly in front of him. The clips, usually Facebook Reels or TikTok videos narrated by an artificial voice, range from slapstick gags to condensed movie plots. When he wakes, he instinctively swipes the tabletop, as if the screen were still there. “He spends most of his free time at home, glued...

March 30, 2026
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27Mar

How a Healthy Mind-Set Influences Longevity

Nan Niland, 72, volunteers about 15 hours a week at a home goods pantry. “I needed to feel like I was doing something other than pleasing myself,” Ms. Niland said.Tony Luong For The New York Times A few qualities, including a sense of purpose, seem to have real benefits — especially as you age. Nan Niland, 72, worked as a dentist for 40 years. “It really was my self-definition,” she said. “Probably too much.” When she retired in 2020, she settled into...

March 27, 2026
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