OFW Journals (OFW Stories on the News) and Some OFW Employment, Career & Business Tips

“The aging population of a nation may be compared to a sleeping giant. And it is this sleeping giant that may provide our country with another leg to stand on as we strive to find the elusive key to rapid sustainable economic development”, wrote a former DTI Undersecretary in the business column of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, August 26, 2005 edition.

Men and women born during the baby boom between the years 1946 to 1964 form the tsunami of retirees in the world, majority of which are coming from the US, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Germany, Italy, France, and the UK. These aging populations constitute an increasingly larger percentage of the population numbering to about 360M in 2006.

Take the case of Japan. As you can see in this chart, in 1970 the labor population profile was a pyramid. Compared this to the profile in 2000, it clearly shows the decline of the number of working age population against the number of population age 65 and over. This increased and continue to increase what we call as the “Elderly Support Ratio” defined as the number of people age 65+ per 100 people ages 20-64.

Population aging may be seen as a human success story in the developed world: the triumph of public health, medical advancements, and economic development over diseases and injuries that had limited human life expectancy over millennia. But the worldwide phenomenon of aging also brought an acknowledgement by the United Nations of the many challenges regarding aging and national development, issues concerning the sustainability of families and the ability of states and communities to provide for aging populations.

The developed countries’ success, however, is without a downside. It resulted to:

• Pension payments to retirees become UNSUSTAINABLE.
• Pension of $1,000 - $1,500 is insufficient to live in these countries.
• Retiring and retired nationals of these countries are seeking alternative and affordable retirement places.

We should take advantage of this economic opportunity to generate jobs and foreign currency for the Philippines. We ride the wave to our shores. If we attract only ½ of 1% of the remaining 360M retirees today over the next ten years, we are talking about $20B annual infusion into the economy, generating four million jobs for Filipinos.

We are relying too much on our overseas workers infusion of $10B annually to our economy at GREAT COSTS TO THEIR PERSONAL LIVES!

If we harness this retirement potential, many overseas workers can come back thus reversing the
migration of talented Filipinos abroad. Happier individuals in happier families mean less social problems – peace and order, drugs, prostitution!

Let’s get our acts together!

About the Author:

Fernando Z. Francisco worked as Resident Manager of Plastic Processing Center, Special Economic Zone (PEZA) for more than a year in Mariveles, Bataan, Philippines. His responsibility included the general management, human resources, and security administration of the zone and two plants: Diversified Plastic Film Systems, Inc., and Modern Plastic Film, Inc. He has over 11 years of experience in distributed information systems, involving project management, analysis, design, implementation, database administration, and support of application software in manufacturing, physical distribution, real estate finance, and marketing. He is a Microsoft Certified Professional, a former Philippine Army general staff corps officer and a member of Philippine Military Academy Class 1971. He took up MS Industrial Engineering at the University of the Philippines, Marketing at York University in Toronto, Canada, and Software Programming at PrimeTech Institute, also in Toronto, Canada. He is currently the Acting General Manager of the Philippine Retirement Authority.