‘Govt, pvt sector should tap senior citizen workforce’
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai:22.08.2019
“There is a need for the state and private sector to support seniors and offer them a second career chance because we are losing a very valuable workforce who are not only fit but also mentally agile,” said Monimita Sarkar on Wednesday.
The founder of Unmukt Festival, an expo focused on senior life and retirement planning, was talking at Unmukt Knowledge Series seminar “Solutions for Empowered Elder Living” where experts stressed on supporting senior citizens and using their experience.
Pointing to a United Nations Population Fund report which estimates that the population of senior citizens in India would, by 2050, grow from 130 million to 300 million, Monimita said, “But we still have people retiring at 60 and preparing for an additional 30 years of life, sometimes with no income. It is time for the authorities to find ways of harnessing their knowledge and utilise what they know. It can be through a change of career, including them in education and giving them projects to work on.”
On the increasing incidence of mental health issues and dementia, especially in seniors, the view was that a combination of family and institutional care is the way forward. Neha Sinha, founder and CEO of Epoch Eldercare said, “In a few years, the total societal cost of dementia is going to grow 3 times from ₹24,700 crore now. Dementia care is exhausting for family members and needs an ecosystem of support, for themselves as well.”
Dr B Vivekanand, founder of Naimisha, said mental well-being was taking a hit due to work pressure and the demand to be successful. “India is in denial on ageing and unless we get out of this, things will only get worse. Stigma on mental health problems needs to be removed.”However, Monimita said, there has been a change in temperament of the retired community.
“Today we see that those nearing 60 plan well in advance, they are conscious about fitness, they move into retirement communities and travel widely. But what they need is resources to support them, which is only possible with a proper collaboration of all sectors.”
Experts stressed on harnessing their knowledge and experience through a change of career, including them in education or giving projects to work on
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai:22.08.2019
“There is a need for the state and private sector to support seniors and offer them a second career chance because we are losing a very valuable workforce who are not only fit but also mentally agile,” said Monimita Sarkar on Wednesday.
The founder of Unmukt Festival, an expo focused on senior life and retirement planning, was talking at Unmukt Knowledge Series seminar “Solutions for Empowered Elder Living” where experts stressed on supporting senior citizens and using their experience.
Pointing to a United Nations Population Fund report which estimates that the population of senior citizens in India would, by 2050, grow from 130 million to 300 million, Monimita said, “But we still have people retiring at 60 and preparing for an additional 30 years of life, sometimes with no income. It is time for the authorities to find ways of harnessing their knowledge and utilise what they know. It can be through a change of career, including them in education and giving them projects to work on.”
On the increasing incidence of mental health issues and dementia, especially in seniors, the view was that a combination of family and institutional care is the way forward. Neha Sinha, founder and CEO of Epoch Eldercare said, “In a few years, the total societal cost of dementia is going to grow 3 times from ₹24,700 crore now. Dementia care is exhausting for family members and needs an ecosystem of support, for themselves as well.”
Dr B Vivekanand, founder of Naimisha, said mental well-being was taking a hit due to work pressure and the demand to be successful. “India is in denial on ageing and unless we get out of this, things will only get worse. Stigma on mental health problems needs to be removed.”However, Monimita said, there has been a change in temperament of the retired community.
“Today we see that those nearing 60 plan well in advance, they are conscious about fitness, they move into retirement communities and travel widely. But what they need is resources to support them, which is only possible with a proper collaboration of all sectors.”
Experts stressed on harnessing their knowledge and experience through a change of career, including them in education or giving projects to work on
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