The ‘tripod’ plan for successful aging

Prof Nguyen Dinh Cu, former head of the Institute of Population and Social Affairs under the National Economics University (NEU), said everyone needs to prepare for old age, both physically and psychologically.

Prof Giang Thanh Long, a senior expert in population and development of NEU, said successful aging can be seen in three factors which have close relations as a ‘tripod’: health (reduced risk of diseases, disabilities), financial capability (stable income thanks to sustainable jobs, social insurance and savings) and participation in social activities (activities in families and the society). 

An elderly man who is strong and rich but doesn’t participate in social activities and lives separately from the community won’t be considered to be successfully aging.  Neither is the man aged 60 who has good financial capability, but often has to go to hospital because of chronic diseases.

As the number of elderly increases, the burden on carers increases especially now as people get married later and have children later, and have fewer children. Experts predict that in just 15-20 years, these people will have to take care of their elderly parents, raise their children, and prepare for their old age themselves.

Preparing for old age on their own is also the recommendation of many international organizations. The concern is that many people don’t think they have to do this.

Prof Giang Thanh Long was head of the team surveying the readiness of Vietnamese people for old age. The survey, conducted among over 2,000 people aged 30-44 in 2022, found that 67 percent wanted to become independent in their old age, not depending on anyone for health, financial capability and decisions in their lives. 

Long noted that, of those who have planned for their lives in old age, the number of men in urban areas was higher than the number of women in rural areas. 

The proportion of people preparing for their retirement period was just 17.3 percent. And surveyors did not find a big difference among groups of people surveyed based on age, sex or area. 

When to begin to prepare for old age?

Asked when one should begin financially preparing for his life in his old age, 22 percent of polled people said when they turn 50 years old or higher. The number of people who answered ’40 or higher’ and ’30 or higher’ were 19.8 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively.

With the results, Long commented that Vietnamese begin preparing for old age relatively late. Meanwhile, the older people get, the higher risks they will face.

This is partially because they don’t have enough resources to do this. Those who have lower incomes tend to begin preparing financially for old age later. 

In modern times, many middle aged and even young people are sure that they will live in a nursing home if their children cannot take care of them. However, in order to go to nursing home, one needs to financially prepare for many years. The number of nursing homes in the country is not high enough to accommodate the increasingly high number of elderly.

Dang Vu Canh Linh, Deputy Director of Youth Research Institute, thinks that many people don’t prepare for their own age because they have to spend time arranging their current lives. Many people believe that taking care of parents is the duty of children, which means their children will be in charge of their lives in the future.

Linh believes that one should begin planning for old age at age 45.

Vo Thu