75% of Taiwanese over 50 say finances 'barely enough'
75%的50歲以上台灣人表示經濟狀況“勉強夠用”
| TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A new survey shows 75% of Taiwanese over 50 feel their finances are barely sufficient, highlighting growing insecurity as the country enters a super-aged society.
The Ministry of the Interior said that as of the end of December, people aged 65 and older accounted for more than 20% of Taiwan’s population, officially making the country a super-aged society, per Rti. The DBS Foundation and CommonWealth Magazine jointly released a survey titled “2026 Ageless Society White Paper” on Wednesday. The survey compares international benchmarks with local data to assess Taiwan’s preparedness for aging, per Rti. The survey identified three major challenges, including living longer without necessarily living healthier, financial anxiety, and a gap between wanting to work and being able to work. The issue is not that people are “aging too quickly,” but rather structural disparities. The white paper said Taiwan ranks well internationally in terms of healthy life expectancy, but cross-checking data on average life expectancy, years lived in poor health, and gender differences reveals warning signs. It said Taiwan’s population is aging rapidly without a corresponding expansion of high-quality, dignified living. Women, while living longer, spend 8.57 years in poor health, higher than men’s 6.96 years, and have higher rates of disability, depression, and loneliness, the white paper said. It urged early preparation to reduce the gap between life expectancy and years lived in poor health, including building muscle strength, developing exercise habits, and strengthening social connections. The second challenge is financial anxiety. Among respondents over 50, 75% felt their finances were "barely enough to get by,” much higher than Singapore’s 43%, the survey found. Peng Tzu-shan (彭子珊), director of the magazine's channel on aging, said the ideal retirement fund is NT$13.2 million (US$417,000), and the median is NT$10 million. When asked why people feel unprepared, most said their income is insufficient, they do not know how to prepare, or they do not know how much money they need. The third challenge is a gap between wanting to work and being able to work. The survey said labor force participation in Taiwan drops sharply after age 55, falling below 10% for those over 65, far lower than in Singapore, Japan, and South Korea. The white paper said this reflects the premature exclusion of middle-aged and older workers from the workforce, weakening their financial resilience. It added that increasing labor force participation among older adults could help ease workforce shortages and delay cognitive decline. |
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| Keoni Everington Taiwan News, Staff Writer | |
| 2026-01-15 |
