Fewer Filipinos supporting their elderly; PHL may soon face “ageing” population.
Fewer Filipinos are supporting their ‘senior citizens,’ according to Asian Development Bank
Filipinos have been known for their caring and supportive attitude towards the elderly.
While senior citizens in most Western countries are often consigned to “retirement homes” or homes for the aged upon reaching 65, most Filipinos still take the responsibility of personally feeding and sheltering their elderly loved ones, even if it means additional financial burden.
The rationale behind this is that for their offspring, it’s “payback time” for the loving care their parents had showered upon them when they were still young.
However, a recent study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) found that fewer Filipinos now have this mindset.
In its paper “Gender Differences in Access to Health Care Among the Elderly: Evidence from Southeast Asia” published on February 12, the Manila-based financial institution noted that “intergenerational transfers from adult children to their older parents have fallen over time in the Philippines and in other Asian countries.”
The paper cited a study conducted by the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (Eria) in 2019, which pointed out that the number of older Filipinos who received financial support from their children fell to 62 percent in 2018, from 85 percent in 2007.
Also, Eria said the number of elderly Filipinos who planned to get monetary support from their children declined to 36 percent in 2018 from 40 percent in 2007.
“Lolas” affected the most
While the ADB noted that there are “no substantial gender differences in disability,” elderly women are the most affected by the sharp decline in support from the younger generation.
“[Elderly women are] more likely to rely on their children as the primary caregiver when they are sick, while older men are more likely to rely on their spouse,” the paper said.
Aging society
The troubling fact, however, is that Filipinos may soon found themselves burdened with an “aging society,” a trend that has already been noted in other Asian countries like Japan.
In its research paper, the ADB noted that over 10 percent of the Philippine population will reach 60 years old by 2030.
This meant additional financial burdens due to health expenditures, as the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that health expenditures of individuals age 60 and above accounted for 22 percent of the total health expenditures in 2018, or P171.5 billion. (JV)