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General Paper

Singapore Demographics (Ageing Population)

Stuff to cover

Pioneer generation package

Central Provident fund

Establishing elderly friendly activities/ facilities

Background

Singapore like many other developed nations such as Japan and Taiwan are experiencing a decline in birthrate. This leads to the pressing issue of an ageing population, also termed affectionally the 'silver Tsunami' Our life expectancy has increased by 10 years over the last 3 decades, from 72 years to 82 years as of 2010. It is predicted that by year 2030 there will be 2.1 working adults aged 26-64 supporting 1 elderly citizen

Causes

Rising single hood

people marrying at a later age

Couples choosing to have lesser children due to rising cost of living

Problems

Financial strain on the small working population who have to pay higher taxes to support the ageing population

Shrinking workforce, the economy becomes less vibrant and innovative

Shrinking customer base, companies may choose to relocate overseas. Singapore will not be attractive to multinational corporations, lose investors.

Younger generation choosing to migrate overseas due to better job opportunities available elsewhere.

Pioneer Generation Package

This package was created to thank the pioneer generation for their hard work and contribution to build Singapore and to transform it into the city it has become today.

Eligibility: Singaporeans who are 65 and older this year and who became citizens before 1987 .

This package contains a card while entitles seniors to special subsidies (additional 50% off total bill) when seeking dental treatment, medical treatment at any clinics under the community health assistant clinics. The packaged is design to be elderly user friendly, containing details on the nearest clinics as well as a fridge magnets with hotlines.

This benefits are for Life.

The government will also provide annual medisave top ups from $200-$800 according to the age groups.

Support the elderly financially, enable them to age gracefully without having to worry about their medical bills.

Central Provident Fund

A compulsory savings scheme every Singaporean citizen is entitled to

To provide post retirement financial stability so that the elderly has enough money to support themselves after retiring.

It also provides healthcare coverage under the medishield and medisave whereby patients can use a portion of their CPF to pay for medical bills.

Establishing elderly friendly activities/ facilities

community centres organise activities such as yoga and Tai Chee classes for the elderly on a daily basis.

The city for all ages initiative. (CFAA)

To enhance the liveability of our environment to integrate age friendly facilities and services.

Aims to build more social spaces under HDB units, enables elderly to have common spaces to interact

build more studio apartments

Installing anti slip floor mats and hand grips in toilets to prevent elderly from falling

Is an ageing population necessarily a bad thing?

YES

NO

Define key terms:

Ageing Population: Larger population of elderly citizens with an every decreasing working population. Lesser working adults to support the seniors. A current phenomenon that can be observed in many developed countries.

Bad thing: Something that is detrimental to society. Brings about more harm than good. study the impacts in the various sectors using PESTLE of an ageing population and weigh its benefits vs drawbacks.

Political

Environmental

Social/ Cultural

Technological

Legal

Education

Economic

1. Financial burden on government and working population

It puts financial strain on the working population who have to pay higher taxes. These taxes will fund the needs of the elderly such as healthcare subsidies, building infrastructure such as nursing homes.

government budget will be spent on meeting the needs of the elderly, lesser money to spend on the working population. might miss out on opportunities to upgrade skills. build new infrastructure to encourage investments

2. Leads to problem of acquiring manpower and funding to run elderly healthcare services.

The elderly are more susceptible to illnesses as they grow older.

Many of them do not know where/ how to seek treatment, the government is responsible to conduct home checks.

Have to recruit volunteers, some might not be willing due to busy schedules.

permanent caregivers for those with terminal illnesses, whether at home or at nursing homes

3. Decrease in productivity of workplaces.

Not enough manpower due to a shrinking population

Local companies who are at a disadvantage when hiring mays close down.

singapore loses its attractiveness as a business and trading hub, lose investors

singaporeans may choose to relocate overseas to find better job opportunities. This leads to brain drain

Economic impacts, decrease in revenue, may eventually impact standard of living

4. Social segregation between the younger generation and working population due to misconceptions and stereotyping

People may disregard the needs of the elderly and see them as burdens of society. common misconceptions include being incapable of supporting themselves financially, ICT illiterate, weak. common stereotyping that suggest the elderly should only be given menial jobs such as being a cleaner.

As a result there may be ageism, whereby older individuals face discrimination at work. Many are unable to find jobs because of their age

Younger generation complain that the government channeling too much resources towards the elderly.

for instance the nursing home incident, residents complained that having a nursing home in the vicinity would lower the property value

No one wants to be responsible for the elderly, push to the elderly.

the elderly may feel neglected. Bad for their psychological wellbeing. ( rise in elderly abandonment rate)

1, Encourages the spirit of volunteerism among the youth, some even chose to work in the social work sector (

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/social-services-finding-favo...)

with the ageing population comes new job opportunities especially in social work arena

enables the youth to pursue their passion for serving the community. Many of them wish to find a meaningful job whereby they can give back to society.

Instills compassion and generosity amongst youths.

foster greater bonds between the elderly and youths, able to work together in harmony to tackle this issue.

this is something that cannot be learnt in the classrooms.

national council for social service has received more applications for scholarships, from 118 in 2011 to 284 in 2014.

readings

http://www.tai.org.au/documents/dp_fulltext/DP63.pdf

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesgruber/2014/02/09/good-news-about-ageing/

http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/case-you-missed-it/story/singapore-still-very-much-ageist-...

http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=7889

Counter argument: However some may beg to defer that the elderly will become a financial burden to the government. In fact because of the compulsory CPF savings scheme, most of the elderly in Singapore are self sufficient. Some may even have excess pension to splurge on luxury items such as vacations and branded cars.

Rebuttal: On the contrary, this may not be the case for a large percentage of the ageing population. There are still individuals who were unemployed or held menial jobs. thus these group of elderlies would have to rely heavily on the government for financial aid.

Counter argument: However some may argue that families are being more involved in caring for their aged grandparents or parents due to measures implemented by the government. For instance families will be giving housing grants for buying a flat near their parents. This encourages children to care for the elderly parents and reduces the need of sending them to nursing homes. Therefore if families are more willing to take responsibility for their aged parents, it reduces the manpower needed to run healthcare services.

Rebuttal: On the other hand, not all families can afford to take time out of their job to care for their aged parents. Many still see nursing homes as a more practical option and chose to abandon their parents at the old folks home. In the end the responsibility of caring for these senior citizens lies in the hands of the government and primary caregivers in these homes.

Counter argument: However some may beg to differ that an ageing population does not necessarily indicate a decrease in productivity. The older generation employees will have more work experience and can impart their knowledge unto the generation Y employees to guide them. This enables generation Y to learn from the experiences of the older generations and improve on past mistakes so as to boost work productivity.

Rebuttal: However the nature of today's market is extremely volatile and the demands of the workplace are constantly evolving . Hence the experiences of the elderly employees may not be sufficient to boost productivity

Counter argument: However some may beg to differ. In the recent years, the government has implemented measures to encourage family bonding between the older and younger generation. For instance Singapore holds annual grandparents days celebrations , in the year 2013 more than 4000 families gathered at the singapore flyer to participate in this activity. These activities aims to lessen the generational gap between the young and the old as well as to rid the stereotypes of the elderly being boring and weak. By holding such large scale events, it unites families to spend time with their aged parents and thus stronger family ties are established.

Rebuttal: However this events only occur on an annual basis. If such values are not reinforced on the younger generation they will soon forget the importance of appreciating their elderly grandparents. The effects of the event may wear off once the hype dies down.

Counter argument: However these youths may face opposition from their parents should they choose to take on such jobs in the future. It is a known fact that social work does not pay as well as prestigious jobs such as lawyers or doctors. Parents may be concerned that their children won't be able to earn as much as their peers and this might hinder their ability to support a family.

Rebuttal: However even so, many young people are still choosing to major in social work in the university. Gradually the social work sector will start to expand as the population ages. There will be a high demand for such jobs and this opens up new windows of opportunities for young people in this sector.

"Science has provided the solution to all our problems" Discuss this statement

Define key terms

Science: The study of our environment and how the various elements work in harmony to sustain life. It is the accumulation of knowledge which we can use to tackle issues in our society.

Problems: Use pestle to define the various areas which problems can arise.

Political

Environmental

Social/ Cultural

Technological

Legal

Education

Economic

My stand:

I agree with the statement that science has provided solutions to problems we encounter in society. No doubt science has helped to resolved pressing issues such as widespread famine and hunger, war as well as environmental problems but it would be an exaggeration to say that science has resolved all our problems. There are still many unresolved issues that scientists are still struggling to tackle, for instance finding a cure for terminal diseases such as cancer and HIV. As of the 21st century science has enabled us to make many breakthroughs in various sectors such addressing environmental issues, Healthcare problems, Improving the quality of education as well as resolve conflicts. All this has been made possible with the collaborative research efforts put in by scientists across the globe.

1. Science has helped to resolve environmental issues

Pollution. Mainly Air pollution and water pollution. This is especially true for developed countries such as China that relies largely on factories to sustain its economy.

The factories churn out massive quantities of pollutants into the air that brings about health problems such as asthma.

Countries with a large car population also face the problem of having large carbon footprints

Science has developed new technology that fits cars with catalytic converters that converts toxic gases such as carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide. It also reduces the release of nitrogen dioxides that leads to acid rain formation. These catalytic converters are now fitted into most cars to reduce the release of toxic gases.

Hybrid cars that run on both battery and petrol also reduces petrol consumption. these hybrid cars release lesser carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Reduces carbon footprints. They are a greener mode of transportation that is sustainable in the long run.

These solutions are sustainable for the long term, they are relatively cheap and are a popular option among the public.

Counter Argument: Not everyone may be receptive to the option of owning hybrid cars as the car battery requires charging time and this may cause inconvenience to drivers. Some people are also concerned that charging the batteries would only incur more costs.

Rebuttal: Car companies are trying their best to market hybrid cars at a lower price to entice customers. With technological advancements hybrid cars can now travel further distances more efficiently as compared to normal cars. Scientists are also looking into the option of using solar power to charge the hybrid cars so as to reduce costs.

2. Science has helped to improve the quality of healthcare. It has reduced the issue of

http://app.msf.gov.sg/Portals/0/Summary/research/CAI_report.pdf

The growing influence of the media today is an area of concern for the government. What are your views?

Define key terms:

Media: Mass communication

- TV

- Newspaper

- Radio

- Social media

Area of concern for the government: use PESTLE

My stand:

I agree that the growing influence of media is an area of concern for the government due to its ability to shape culture and influence our lifestyle choices. There are various forms of media which are common used in Singapore. Social media would be is one of the more popular platforms due to its convenience and power to spread information rapidly. Media is able to empower the people with knowledge, however it is also able to manipulate information and distort the truth. Hence media is double edged sword that one should thread with caution.

http://national.deseretnews.com/article/1294/the-instagram-effect-how-the-psychology-of-envy-drives-... (social media influences consumerism)

ageing population

essay question 1

Science/ essay

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