Fortunately, my parents are still healthy, taking care of each other, especially exercising very regularly morning and afternoon. My father said: "This is the time to prepare for the age... older". He boasted that compared to the "hypertension army" which are the elders in the team exercising in the apartment building yard, he is still too young. My mother finds pleasure in the art troupe of retirees in the residential group.
That optimism, although very helpful, clearly my parents when they were younger had almost no preparation for old age in terms of finance and health.
From my parents' own story, looking back at myself, I realize that it will be more than 10 years before reaching the "retirement age", but right now, I have had to adjust my thinking and way of life to be more ready when I am old.
The Ministry of Health's proposal to equip knowledge and skills to prepare for old age for people aged 40 and over is not only a solution to respond to the rate of population aging. This is also a reminder to everyone to change their perspective: Old age does not suddenly appear when retiring, but is formed from choices of health, finance, work and lifestyle in previous years.
For many people, the age of 40 to 50 is still a period of vigor, having professional experience and playing an important role in the family. They must both focus on developing their career, raising children, and taking care of their elderly parents. In that cycle, their own needs are often placed at the bottom.
Many people only go for examination when their bodies show abnormal signs, only think about insurance when illness appears and only calculate their retirement life when the time to quit their jobs is very close.
But many chronic diseases in old age do not form in a few months. High blood pressure, diabetes, metabolic disorders and many cardiovascular problems can silently develop from middle age. According to experts cited in the document, periodic health monitoring and early detection of risk factors from the age of 40 are decisive for the quality of life later.
Whether a person at the age of 60 is healthy or not largely depends on how they eat, exercise, sleep and manage stress at the age of 40. A proactive, less dependent old age cannot be created by a few treatments when the disease is severe, but needs to be accumulated with good habits every day.
Therefore, equipping knowledge to prepare for old age should not be simply understood as opening a propaganda class for middle-aged people. What is more necessary is to help each person build a specific plan that can be implemented and self-assessed.
They need to know what health indicators to monitor; how to have regular check-ups; how to choose a suitable diet and exercise regimen; what signs should not be ignored. Knowledge only really makes sense when it turns into regular actions.
Health and finance are two closely linked issues in old age. When retiring, income often decreases while medical examination, treatment and care costs may increase.
Without savings, insurance and reserve funds, a health incident could disrupt the lives of the whole family. The elderly at that time not only suffer from disease pressure but also easily fall into a lingering psychology because they have to depend on their children and grandchildren.
Preparing finances from the age of 40 does not mean that everyone must own a large amount of money. The important thing is that each person needs to clearly see their own situation: how many assets, what debts, how will revenue change when quitting and how much essential expenses in the years of old age?
From there, they can build regular savings plans, participate fully in social insurance and health insurance, form contingency funds and limit loans exceeding their ability to pay.
Many early retirees feel regret because they do not have a stable source of income, lack health insurance, are not prepared for arising expenses, or underestimate the time they have to live on savings.
These warnings are particularly noteworthy in the context of increasing life expectancy. Retirement is not just a plan for 5 or 10 years, but could be a journey lasting decades.
Therefore, financial knowledge for middle-aged people must be disseminated in an easy-to-understand way, suitable for each income group. Workers, freelancers, officials, public employees or business households with different sources of income and accumulation capacity cannot apply a common formula.
Preparing for old age is also preparing for changes in work and social roles. When leaving the working environment, a person not only loses their salary. They may also lose their familiar rhythm of life, colleague relationships, feeling recognized, and daily goals.
That is why some people, even without financial difficulties, still feel disappointed, lonely or lost direction after retirement.
From the age of 40, everyone needs to think about maintaining their ability to study and adapt to the profession. Rapidly changing technology can make skills that were once an advantage become outdated. Middle-aged people who stop learning will face difficulties even before reaching retirement age.
40s - according to the proposal of the Ministry of Health - so it is not too early to think about old age. That is the right time for everyone to seriously take care of their body, arrange finances, update skills and prepare for a stable spiritual life.
Preparing for old age while still healthy not only helps each person live more securely. It is also a way to reduce the burden on families, the health system and the whole society in the process of population aging.
