The concept of raising the retirement age is gaining more popularity in several countries. While this admittedly has certain benefits, I would contend that these are overshadowed by the drawbacks.
To begin with, I believe that older human resources possess deep professional knowledge and wealth of practical experiences, allowing them to perform well in key positions and support the training of the next generation. Besides that, utilizing these workforces also contribute to addressing the shortage of human resources in some industries such as healthcare, education or engineering, where a high level of expertise and extensive experience are essential.
On the other hand, at a certain age, people should deal with the decline of physical strength, memory, and stress tolerance. It is such a challenge for the older workforce to maintain stability and flexibility compared to younger labour, especially in some industries that require high intensity or quick reactions. Furthermore, the rapid changes in technology and modern working methods also pose great challenges for older workers in adapting and updating the latest knowledge. Despite their wealth experience, they may have difficulty in keeping up with the pace of innovation, leading to the risk of falling behind or becoming a hindrance in the process of digital transformation and improving work processes. Additionally, almost all the workforce prefer to devote themselves to their work during the pre-retirement period, so that they can spend their old age enjoying their family and grandchildren, yet increasing the retirement age reduces this valuable rest period, thereby significantly affecting their mental health and quality of life in the final stages of their lives. While experienced workers often hold key positions, their prolonged presence may limit opportunities for younger talent, leading to long-term imbalances and shortages in certain sectors.
To conclude, raising the retirement age offers benefits to some extent, the disadvantages of this trend outweigh the benefits.