Hard facts on ageing in Singapore

WOMEN form the bulk of the ‘oldest old’ in Singapore, people who are 80 years and above; a global phenomenon known as feminization of ageing.

According to the 2004 AWARE-TSAO Foundation report on Women and Income Security in an ageing Singapore population, for every 1,000 males aged 80-89, there were 1,720 females in 2000.

The study found that the imbalance in sex ratio started to increase dramatically from 60 years old onwards, with more women filling the ranks of 80 years and over than men.

The Feminization of Ageing

In Singapore as in else where in Asia, older people tend to rely on traditional family support systems to care for them for the rest of their lives. Although majority (91%) of the ‘oldest old’ among older women in Singapore have spousal or family support for their old age, the reality of fewer children in most families today means caregiving is now shared among fewer siblings which can be a drain on their financial resources. Caregiving to the elderly may become compromised as a result of fewer family caregivers sharing the caregiving burden.

The rising sex-ratio shows that the feminization of the older ages is expected to intensify in the future, as life expectancies increase, and older women continue to outlive men.

A ‘one size fits all’ eldercare policy will be inadequate to meet the special needs of the growing number of women in the oldest age group (80 and beyond) who are most likely to be widowed, disabled and poor.