Are children still our 'insurance policy' in old age?

It's time we embraced a new way of thinking and living: Children are not an 'insurance policy' for our old age!

Illustration: cuoi.tuoitre.vn

As previously reported: Vietnam belongs to the group of countries with low per capita income, but the proportion of the population aged 60 and over has begun to increase rapidly, leading to the risk of an aging population.

This not only places a burden on social security policies and the healthcare system, but also poses a challenge for each family.

Adding another perspective on this situation, reader Thanh Ny shared her thoughts with Tuoi Tre Online.

With old age, illnesses also come in quick succession.

"As we grow old together, illnesses come crashing down on us all at once…" - my uncle sighed as he looked at my younger sister, who had just returned from a follow-up visit at the hospital.

My maternal family has seven siblings; my eldest sister is over seventy-six, and my youngest aunt is also approaching sixty.

They loved each other dearly and protected each other wholeheartedly, yet at times they could only sigh helplessly at the burden of old age that surrounded them from all sides.

When my eldest aunt was diagnosed with stomach cancer and had to undergo surgery two years ago, the entire long period from the day she was hospitalized until she returned home was filled with support from her siblings and grandchildren.

Then my youngest step-aunt discovered she had breast cancer, and my third uncle had kidney surgery, so the tasks of caring for, being present for, and supporting each other became increasingly complicated.

As we approach the twilight years of our lives, illness looms large, casting a heavy shadow over our extended family.

Diabetes, colon problems, high blood pressure, and joint issues require several check-ups each month, while children and grandchildren are busy with work and the pressures of life, making it impossible for them to properly pick up and drop off patients, wait for appointments, and await results.

Sometimes we felt incredibly guilty, but circumstances forced us to turn a blind eye as our aunt trudged to the hospital on her bicycle or called a motorbike taxi to take her there when her legs were aching.

Of the seven siblings, only three have pensions, albeit modest ones, providing a means to cover their living expenses. The rest struggle to make ends meet because their children's lives are still fraught with difficulties: one makes incense, another babysits, and another works at a coffee shop.

The dream of a peaceful and joyful old age surrounded by children and grandchildren remains a distant one…

Those who were more financially secure always tried to protect those in need, buying each other health insurance cards for safety, and helping to ease the burden on their siblings' families.

But all the protection is like a drop in the ocean compared to the pressures of life, the burden of illness…

The other day, my mother told you about my youngest aunt's situation: the TV is broken, so every night she cycles over to my sister's house to watch it; the washing machine's spin cycle is broken, so she has to wring out the clothes by hand; her son is grown up but not wise, working as a Grab driver sporadically, and is so addicted to online games that he's in debt to loan sharks.

Two gray-haired elders on the other side of life's slope can only sigh and suppress their pain, feeling sorry for her but powerless to help…

The challenge of "getting old before getting rich"

Vietnamese people are "getting old before they get rich" - facing the challenges of this era, it's time we became more resolute in adopting a new way of thinking and living: Children are not just an "insurance policy" for our old age!

Besides careful planning to adequately prepare for life in old age, I believe our country needs to learn from advanced and effective elderly care models around the world to support older people in living healthy and high-quality lives in the near future.

The dreams of the elderly people around me

According to statistics from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs , as of now, Vietnam has approximately 14.4 million people who have passed retirement age.

Among them, there are over 8 million people who are past retirement age but do not receive a pension or monthly allowance. And countless elderly people around me who lack such "savings" are struggling immensely to make ends meet.

Returning to the case of my aunt, who was a worker at a tobacco factory. At that time, the factory was dissolved when she only had about 5 years left to meet the social insurance contribution requirements for a pension.

The "unripe rice" that had to be harvested back then provided a considerable sum of money that helped my aunt repair her house and cover her living expenses.

After leaving her long-time job, my aunt tried various jobs to make a living before finally settling on making incense sticks.

With a dizzying head from vertigo, aching back, and rheumatic legs that throbbed with pain whenever the weather changed, she occasionally uttered the words, "If only...".

"If only I had completed my social insurance contract back then, receiving a pension now would have been so much easier!"

I've heard that exclamation countless times whenever my aunt noticed her health declining due to the arduous work of making incense sticks and the heavy burden of providing for the family.

Having endured countless hardships in her youth and faced numerous pressures in her old age, my aunt deeply appreciates the value of a financial safety net after retirement: the pension system.

It's not a lofty dream; it's a very ordinary, very realistic dream: to have a pension and social security benefits when you get old.

But, for my aunt, even that was just a dream...

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/con-cai-co-con-la-tam-the-bao-hiem-luc-ta-tuoi-gia-20241213105344236.htm