LettersSolution to Asia’s ageing workforce could be sitting at home retired
Readers discuss second-career pathways for older professionals, and why Indonesia and China should innovate together
As a physician who has spent decades in medicine, I see ageing differently from the conventional calendar. Chronological age tells us how many birthdays someone has celebrated; functional age tells us what that person can still contribute.
A healthy 65- or 70-year-old physician, professor, engineer, scientist or administrator might possess something no university can quickly manufacture and no artificial intelligence can fully replicate: decades of accumulated judgment.
China’s experiment therefore deserves attention across Asia. Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and, eventually, much of Southeast Asia face similar demographic pressures. Instead of viewing population ageing primarily as an expanding pension and healthcare burden, governments should also ask how healthy longevity can become productive longevity.