Malaysia’s growing ageing population coupled with decreasing fertility rates will lead to higher pressure on the social system.
“The average Employees Provident Fund savings of a 51-to-55-year-old is RM159,952 (US$38,870), which means that at the current interest and inflation rates, a person drawing a poverty-line income every month would only last 15.6 years,” said prominent Malaysian economist Prof Jomo Kwame Sundaram in his opening address during Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s Megatrends Forum 2016 yesterday.
He noted that Malaysians were having fewer children and this wasn’t just among the Chinese, but all races. Thus, with this, the ageing population is increasing and dependency ratios are moving upwards.
“As the life expectancy of the elderly increases, the level of poverty also increases.
“An ageing society can increase the fiscal and financial pressure of a country,” said Jomo.
AMEN
