Question: Examine the level of retirement adequacy among older people in
Singapore.

You will have to conduct 1) secondary research on this topic, and 2) in-depth qualitative interviews, to address this ECA.

Important note for the in-depth qualitative interviews: You will need to interview EXACTLY TWO persons who should be aged 50 or older. The interviewees could be currently retired or are preparing for retirement. The interviews should be conducted face-to-face.

Students’ Notes:

This assignment allows you to practise your interviewing skills, organise research and empirical data, as well as to analyse the ageing process of older persons. You will illustrate the heterogeneity of ageing populations and analyse ageing experiences with reference to relevant issues from the course. In doing so, you will compose a nuanced picture of retirement adequacy and ageing.

Before you start, you should read the relevant material in your course; and to have a better idea of the concept of ageing in the local context, you could look up recent news articles (via NewsLink or Factiva in SUSS’s e-resources) that highlighted concerns about ageing and various approaches to ageing. You should also look up additional and recent scholarly articles relevant to the topic, using SUSS’s e-resources (e.g. The Gerontologist, Ageing & Society, JSTOR, ScienceDirect, SocINDEX, Blackwell Reference Online selected SAGE journals) for your secondary research.

Prepare a list of questions in advance that you will ask each interviewee so that the interview will be focused. If the person consents, the interview may be audio-recorded (but this is not compulsory). If consent for audio recording is not given by the interviewee, be sure to note their responses in a written format. If he or she lives with family, it is important to seek the family members’ permission. It is suggested that each interview should take 15 to 20 minutes.

The written essay should contain basic bio data of the person such as name (a fictitious one to protect his/her privacy), age, ethnicity, gender, place of birth, educational attainment, occupation, and living arrangements.

The essay should address the question thoroughly, using relevant theories and concepts associated with social gerontology.

You will need to address the following guiding points for this ECA:

1. Introduce and explain the concept of retirement adequacy.

2. Discuss the trends of retirement adequacy among older adults in Singapore and/or other ageing societies. Explain why retirement adequacy is important for the well-being and quality of life of older people.

3. Investigate and compare the interviewees’ levels of retirement adequacy. You may discuss issues such as, but not limited to, their estimated/projected retirement incomes, sources of retirement incomes, retirement needs and aspirations, satisfaction (or lack thereof) of their retirement incomes and retirement lifestyles.

4. Examine how sociodemographic factors such as gender, culture and/or social class could influence the interviewees’ retirement adequacy. Also, consider how these sociodemographic factors could have created barriers and opportunities for the interviewees to build and maintain their retirement adequacy.

5. Apply any relevant concepts and theories covered in the course to explain the retirement adequacy of the interviewees.

6. Evaluate a current national policy or programme that aims to increase the retirement adequacy for older persons in Singapore. Discuss how this policy could be improved in ONE way to strengthen the retirement adequacy of the interviewees.