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Singapore is rapidly aging but there are some trends that investors can think about.

Here are the basic statistics that you should know about Singapore’s ageing demographics:

• 1 in 5 Singaporeans are now above 65 in 2023, compared to only 1 in 10 a decade ago. This is expected to reach 25% by 2030.
• An average Singaporean is expected to live up to 83 years old. The minimum retirement age is 63, which means that a retired person would have to support himself/herself for another 20 years.
• Households are having fewer children. The fertility rate has plummeted to 1.2 per woman in 2021 from 1.6 in 2000.

The first thought that comes to mind — oh no, who is going to take care of the elderly? And who is going to drive the economy in the future? Not only are Singaporeans living longer, but they are having fewer children. This is indeed a critical long-term problem, and many countries in the world are experiencing the same problems too.

However, rather than fear it, I say we need to embrace an ageing society instead. The fear is that a smaller proportion of the population will be taking care of a larger share of the population, increasing the burden on working adults. But many elderly are actually looking to work past their retirement age.

As the digital age opens up new opportunities, more and more senior citizens are learning additional skills even in their old age. As they get more financially secure towards the later parts of their life, they tend to embark on careers that are based on their hobbies, interests and passions (which they could not pursue in their previous career). And they probably have more wealth than their younger counterparts too which opens up investment opportunities.

For you: There are essentially three trends that you should be aware of on what senior citizens would need to spend:

• Healthcare services: Elderly will spend more on healthcare, not just to take care of their health but to prolong their life. These include hospitals, pharmacies, dentists, physiotherapists, and other medical-related services. Not only that, they would also spend on lifestyle and wellness products such as spas, gyms, supplements, and electronic gadgets that monitor their health.
• Food: Healthy food will be more in demand. As the elderly encounter more sickness and ailments, their diet shifts to lower carbs and fat, as they probably have to deal with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (the two most common ones).
• Senior housing: This is big business now. As their children increasingly cannot cope with the demand of taking care of them, many have opted to live in senior housing. As space is increasingly becoming scarce, demand and prices have soared.