Getting ready for the silver avalanche in Asia

THE silver avalanche is coming to Asia. To give some perspective, it took the UK, US and France 45 years, 69 years and 115 years respectively to move from an ageing to an aged society, and it will take Singapore and China only 25 years. The momentum of the silver avalanche may not be the same for all Asian countries, and nations such as China, Singapore, Thailand and South Korea will be most affected by the silver avalanche. For example, in Singapore, by 2030, 46 per cent of the population will be over 50 years old, and this segment will be growing at 9.5 per cent year-on-year, one of the highest in Asia.

It is commonplace to consider ageing a risk, but it also serves as a huge opportunity for the business community. The silver avalanche is an economy in itself with some US$26 trillion in terms of the accumulated wealth by the silver population in 2018. By 2030, people over 50 years of age will constitute 32 per cent of the entire Asia-Pacific population, but are expected to contribute 52 per cent of the region's total consumer expenditure.

While the opportunity is here to stay, the nature of this opportunity is far from being homogenous. For example, just across two dimensions - wealth and digital adoption - the silver economy remains highly divided. Unsurprisingly, the wealthy seniors who have yet to embrace the digital age command 60 per cent share of the silver economy. Interestingly however, the wealthy seniors who have embraced digital command the second-largest share of the silver economy. In fact, smartphone penetration for the population who are above 50 years old is growing 2.4 times faster than that of the population aged 18-34 years old.