What should you know?
The world’s population is aging and that trend is predicted to accelerate over the coming years.
The chart below shows the % of the world’s population who are currently over 65 years old, and forecasts how that trend is expected to continue in the future:
Why should you care?
An aging population presents significant challenges for governments around the world:
-
-
- Older individuals typically require more medical treatment, which means public healthcare systems will be put under increasing resource and cost pressure as populations grow older.
- Governments will have more retirees to support, and a smaller proportion of the population in the tax-paying workforce to provide the funds to pay for it. This will put further strain on state-provided pension systems, many of which are already underfunded.
-
The facts don’t lie. It is obvious that state-provided benefits are likely to diminish. At best, they will stagnate and at worst, they could vanish completely.
If you want to secure a comfortable future, it will have to be funded largely from your own pocket. The sooner you start planning for that, the better.
