It is widely acknowledged that thanks to improved living standards, life span, on average, has been on the rise in prosperous nations. This essay will first demonstrate that increased life expectancy potentially puts a strain on state coffers (= state budgets) and young working adults, and then suggest that the governments and enterprises could join hands to wholly address the problems.
An aging population in developed countries is believed to place a heavier burden on the state budget and young workforce. To begin with, when people grow older and retire from work, they tend to heavily rely upon welfare programs sponsored by the governments. For this reason, if the amount of pension and healthcare expenses paid to the elderly exceeds a big part of the tax revenues, a surge in life expectancy may result in budget deficits. Such budget deficits would also potentially lead to tax hikes, meaning that younger labor forces have to work harder to assume that responsibility. For example, given its proliferation of living standards over the past decades, Japan has now witnessed an upward trend in its elderly population and spendings for this specific age group, putting young citizens under massive pressure to work harder and make a greater contribution to the state budget in the light of increased tax. According to a line of surveys in Japan, such pressure that youngsters have experienced, in fact, indirectly led to a number of suicides in some cases in the country.
Mitigating the aforementioned challenges requires a multifaceted approach that combines policy reforms and other collaborative endeavors. On the governmental level, a fixed amount of fundings should be allocated to elderly people who are in desperate need of support, while still taking care of other fundamental sectors to ensure the sustainability of the country in all aspects. The governments should also encourage their residents to work longer and retire later than normal if their mental and physical health are in good condition. However, such initiatives would be ineffective or even futile without companies taking actions simultaneously. Businesses can change their employment and promotion policies, hopefully acting as a precursor to motivate older workers with years of experience and outstanding expertise to retire later in their lives.
In conclusion, the demographics in some developed parts of the world have experienced a clear-cut rise in elderly population. This tendency has posed an imminent threat to state fundings and young workers within the society and could be mitigated by a joint effort between the governments and companies.