Futures of Ageing in Singapore

Singapore is one of the most rapidly ageing countries in the world with the proportion of those aged 65 and above projected to more than double from 8% in 2005 to 20% in 2030. This is due to a rapidly declining total fertility rate coupled with an increasing life expectancy as Singapore develops. While population ageing is not a trend unique to Singapore, what is interesting is how it has been represented in the Singapore context in opposing ways. On the one hand, ageing is portrayed as a "silver tsunami" which threatens Singapore's future economic prospects and societal wellbeing. On the other hand, ageing is seen in a more positive light through discourses of "active" and "successful ageing" with the elderly continuing to make important contributions to society as they age. In this paper, I demonstrate how Four-Quadrant Mapping and Causal Layered Analysis can be used to develop a possible alternative future of ageing by dissecting the ideologies and myths underlying dominant representations of ageing in Singapore. I argue that current representations of ageing reveal instrumental ways of thinking about ageing as "wealth" or "burden". Such myths about ageing in turn shape policy responses which focus on the outer behavioural and structural aspects of ageing (such as lifelong learning and employment, and financial independence), rather than engage with the changing values and aspirations of individuals. Instead, I propose an alternative myth of ageing as "contentment" and argue for a lifecycle perspective in developing policies on ageing.