Ahh mugging for IHC test sucks. Missed Friday so slack =P Went for concert after a slack day of school. Oh and HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO MICHELLE TAY! (: LOL it was on Friday but i couldn't use com on Friday >.< So anw went to meet Jun Han at JEC there then take MRT to City Hall. Ate dinner and was still early. So slack around then walk to Esplanade. Wa very windy and alot of buildings xD Dunno how to describe u go see yourself...very nice (:
Ended up like 50 minutes early? Then sat outside for 50 minutes with nothing to do >.< Lol looking at people walk around very fun. Finally could go in. And Singaporeans are damn zai at watching concerts. Keep wolf whistling and clapping at everything. Either that or using handphones to shine at wall cos the lights all off ma. LOL and talking and laughing at every little thing. Pro LOL! But overall the concert was quite nice luh :D Ohh cool i didn't say NOT BAD LA =x
So after the concert we went home. Then found out 66 bus service had stopped at 23.00 and it was 23.30 already so me and Jun Han call our fathers come fetch us =/
Basically tt sums up Friday. Now for the mugging!
Hmm start with whether senior citizens are liability or asset to our country =P
Liability:
- Greater demand for healthcare services and social services. Although not all senior citizens will fall ill, there are certain age-related health problems such as loss of hearing and failing eyesight. Thus more resources will have to be used to set up healthcare centres for the aged, reducing resources for further investments and economic ventures.
- Singapore will have to spend more of its financial resources to set up community based services such as day care centres and nursing homes to take care of the aged. Befriender services and social services will also be needed. In other words, a large pool of trained welfare staff are needed to take care of senior citizens such as nurses and volunteers.
- With more senior citizens, there will be more stress on the working population to support the old. Thus, the working population must pay more taxes to provide the facilities and services need for the aged. In future, say 2030, 2.2 adults will be needed to take care of one aged person. The government would also need to use more of its revenue to take care of senior citizens, and part of the revenue is from taxes. With fewer babies, there would be fewer young people to support the aged and thus they will have to be taxed more heavily just to provide the facilities and services need for senior citizens.
Asset:
- With more healthy and better educated senior citizens in the country, it would mean a larger pool of people with valuable skills, knowledge, work experience and talent. Senior citizens can also help to take care of their grandchildren, making themself useful by contributing to the family. They can also act as mentors to the younger generation or become advisors in government organizations and private companies. In this way, they can make themselves useful and contribute to the society.
- Healthy senior citizens can still contribute to the society. The government has recognized their importance in the society and increased the retirement age from 60 to 62.
- Senior citizens can also engage in the 'back to work' program which can help them find suitable jobs and provide them with the necessary training.
- Senior citizens can help promote the growth of some manufacturing and service industries. With more senior citizens, demand for goods and services for them will go up, expanding the market for these goods and services.
Woohoo finished. Typed everything myself :D Now for how to prepare for an aging population.
Government support:
The Government can prepare for an aging population by policies implemented to help take care of the elderly. The government has a tribunal for maintenance of parents. Parents can get the court's help in seeking financial support from their children who are capable of supporting them but are not doing so. This applies to senior citizens who are incapable of supporting themselves and are above the age of 60. There is also the tax relief scheme which offers tax reductions to children who are taking care of the elderly in the family or contributing to their own or their elderly dependents' CPF retirement accounts. The Government also provides public housing schemes for first time buyers of government flats and housing grants if they are buying a flat in the area where their parents live.There is also 3 accounts in the CPF for all employees. The Special Account is for retirement, emergency and investment. The Medisave Account is used for paying for medical bills and the Retirement Account is for when you retire. People can withdraw money from this account at the age of 55 and money will be sent to you monthly through this account when you reach 62 years old to ensure you have money for your old age.
Individual:
The individual must also be responsible for preparing for his old age. They can attend pre-retirement talks to learn how to plan for their old age and go for regular medical check-ups to ensure they are healthy. They should also keep to a proper diet and exercise regularly so that they do not fall sick easily. They must also learn to be independent to reduce the burden on the younger generation. They should also spend more time with their family and strengthen bonds within their family so that there would be support for them and keep a more active social life.
All Singaporeans:
Every Singaporean has a part to play in helping the country prepare for an aging population. Children should have the moral responsibility to care for their parents and the community should also respect and show care for the senior citizens. The 'many helping hands' approach is Singapore's way of preparing for an aging population. The Government believes this approach is better than increasing taxes and this will reduce over-dependence on the Government to look after the people. When this responsibility of taking care of the senior citizens is shared, the Government will be less burdened and the resources saved can be used for other needs of the country.
Family Care:
Families should show care and concern for the aged and show respect to them. They must make the aged feel wanted and ask for their opinions, giving them a part to play in the family so that they do not feel left out and useless. They also need to be patients with the aged.
Community Help:
The community also has an important part to play in preparing the country for an ageing population. The community can give social and emotional support and provide healthcare and social services for the elderly. Voluntary welfare organizations like the Home Nursing Foundation involve members of the community like housewives and school children to look after the needs of the elderly. They also offer free health checks and recreational activities for senior citizens.
Haiz see how much i have to memorise? Now for the rest of population!
Family planning:
From 1966 to 1981. The aim was to control the rapid population growth at that time. This consisted of 3 five year plans. The first five year plan emphasised on smaller families. The second five year plan encouraged married couples to 'stop at two' while the third five year plan aimed to hit the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. At that time, Singapore encouraged the use of contraception and legalized abortion. Policies were also put in place to discourage couples from having many children.
- No paid maternity leave for third and subsequent child
- No priority given to large families in the allocation of government flats
- No income tax relief for fourth and subsequent child
- Delivery charges to increase with each additional child
Promoting Population Growth from 1980s: Why?
There was declining birth rate in the 1980s due to the family planning policies and late marriages. The total fertility rate reached 1.82 children per woman in 1980 which was below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. A larger workforce was needed to sustain the nation's development and manpower was needed for national defence. Singapore was also unattractive to MNCs because of the small consumer and labour market and expensive labour compared to other countries like China. More resources were also needed to take care of the senior citizens.
Promoting Population Growth after the 1980s: How?
The Graduate Mother's Scheme was started in 1984. It encouraged graduate couples to marry and have children. However it was scraped after one year in 1985 because many people felt it was unfair and population policies built on the belief that graduates had better babies were very controversial. Another scheme was the 'Three or More If You Can Afford It' in 1987. It aimed to bring Singapore's birth rate back to the replacement level of 2.1 but was very careful about it and made sure couples could afford it before having a third child. This was due to the economic recession in 1985 which led to may people getting retrenched and many MNCs pulling out their investments in Singapore. This scheme allowed people to use Medisave to pay for delivery charges. However, the Government overlooked the higher standards of living and the high costs of bringing up a baby, e.g. education. Also, due to the increasing cost of medical care, Medisave accounts were drained usually in 1 or 2 hospitalizations. Besides those schemes, there were equalised benefits which allowed mothers to make medical claims for their children, something that only fathers were allowed to do last time. The maternity leave was also extended from 8 weeks to 12 weeks. There is also the 5 day work week for the civil service to allow for better work-life balance and tax relief of up to $3000 if grandparents were helping to take care of children.
Ahh finished population. Basically population only liddat (: Happy reading LOL!
Sleep-talked, 5:05 PM.
