Longevity Is Good News To Be Celebrated

Tan Sai Siong

Unlike the many catastrophic events of life for which insurance is bought, longevity isn't one of them, so I can't understand why our Government is calling its planned annuity for long-lifers “longevity insurance”.

Longevity is a blessing, to be embraced joyfully and gratefully, especially by those of us who have eaten more salt than rice.

Throughout the ages, longevity is much sought after. Sages from China to Greece , Egypt to India have experimented with philosopher stones, lingzhi (the mushroom of immortality) and every kind of potion imaginable, just to try and add more years to life. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, even the military strategist, Zhu Geliang, tried to achieve longevity with offerings to the gods -- only to be thwarted by fate.

We Singaporeans who are over 60 have just been told that we stand a 50% chance of living to 85 years and beyond. This is exciting news and should not be portrayed as a problem that needs to be alleviated through a contentious, compulsory insurance scheme. Maybe it's true that the good die young but there's no need to make it a bad scene for those who live longer. 

I'm 63. I find the longevity news very good news. So, I say: let's focus on the good news first. What does an extra 25 years mean to you and me, especially for those in my age group?

It's about possibilities, new beginnings and a potential 2 1 / 2 decades to live it! Think of the extra time we have for families and old friends; new friendships and relationships that can be initiated and enjoyed. Think of all the faded friendships and relationships that could be rekindled and salvaged. "Too late" are words to be outlawed from our vocabulary.

Think of the new careers, jobs, colleagues or even ventures for us to seek out and test drive. The extra time to smell the flowers, with no worry about "time's winged chariot hurrying near". There is so much to explore and we've the extra time.

With the accelerated pace of change, the extra 20 to 25 years could easily translate into 40 or 50 more years according to the pace in the time of our parents and grandparents! This means that longevity has effectively extended our lives by two generations!

Isn't that worth rejoicing about? Especially when our home is Singapore where there is so much happening daily. As we go about our lives, we witness big changes afoot: new landmarks created, old ones enhanced. Longevity gives us this enviable opportunity to savour an increasingly kinder yet more zestful Singapore.

Or, if Singapore gets on your nerves, there is time enough to venture afar. Never mind that we did not have the guts when we were younger. At 60, with another quarter of our life still to unroll, there's time aplenty to mistake a mirage for an oasis and yet make it back again to the safety of our homes before sunset.

The nation at large should rejoice at this longevity news too. Qualified, experienced workers can contribute for a longer period of time. Less qualified but still experienced workers and those who have never been qualified at all become potential candidates for training or retraining, because there are vast opportunities for them to pay back in this age of longevity.

So, I say to our Government: By all means throw in the extra 1% for all CPF members but as a celebration of long life, not an antidote to ward off the ills of longevity. And for those like me who have already used our minimum sum to buy an annuity, let us have that 1% to top-up our annuity, rather than buy an extra one.

Better still, let us fritter it away anyway we want, to reward those who bought annuities early and to incentivise others who have not committed their minimum sum to annuities to do so.

Tan Sai Siong is an ex-journalist and was the first editor of The Business Times. The views expressed by the author represent the opinions of the author and not those of the staff and management of the Centre For Seniors.

All copyright to this article is exclusively owned by the author.