Are children still our 'insurance card' when we are old?

It's time for us to be more steadfast with a new way of thinking and a new way of living: Children are not an 'insurance card' when we are old!

Illustration: cuoi.tuoitre.vn

As reported: Vietnam belongs to the group of countries with low per capita income, but the proportion of the population aged 60 and over has begun to increase rapidly, leading to the risk of an aging population.

This is not only a burden on social security policies and the health system, but also a challenge for every family.

To add another perspective on this situation, reader Thanh Ny shared this with Tuoi Tre Online.

Old age and illness also come one after another.

"When we grow old, illnesses come one after another..." - my uncle sighed before his sister who had just returned from the hospital for a check-up.

My maternal family has seven siblings, the eldest sister is over seventy-six years old, the youngest aunt has just turned sixty.

They love each other dearly and protect each other wholeheartedly, but sometimes they are helpless and sigh because of the burden of old age surrounding them from all sides.

When my eldest aunt discovered she had stomach cancer and had to have surgery two years ago, the long period from the day she was hospitalized until she returned home was always supported by her siblings and children.

Then the youngest aunt discovered breast cancer, and the third uncle had kidney surgery, so the care, attendance, and support for each other became more and more complicated.

At the threshold of old age, illness spread everywhere, making the atmosphere of the extended family heavy.

Diabetes, colon, blood pressure, and bone and joint diseases require several check-ups each month, while children are busy with work and life pressures, so they cannot take care of picking them up, waiting for their turn, or waiting for results.

Sometimes we felt extremely guilty, but circumstances forced us to turn a blind eye and let our aunt pedal her bike to the hospital or call a motorbike taxi to take her when her legs were tired.

Of the seven siblings, only three have pensions, which, although modest, are still enough to support their lives. The rest still struggle to make a living because their children's private lives are still full of difficulties: one makes incense, one babysits, and one works at a coffee shop.

The dream of a peaceful old age, enjoying life with children and grandchildren is still far away...

The more relaxed people always tried to protect the needy, bought each other health insurance cards, and helped their siblings to have less hardship in their homes.

But all protection is like a drop in the ocean in front of life's pressures and the burden of illness...

The other day, my mother told me about her youngest step-aunt's house: the TV was broken, so every night she rode her bike to her sister's house to watch it; the washing machine had a broken spin cycle, so she had to hand-wash the clothes; her son was grown up but not smart, he worked as a Grab driver one day and then another, and was so addicted to playing online games that he had bad credit debt.

Two gray heads on the other side of life's slope can only sigh and feel sorry for you but powerless...

The challenge of "not rich yet old"

Vietnamese people "are not rich yet but old" - facing the challenges of this era, it is time for us to be more steadfast with a new way of thinking and a new way of living: Children are not an "insurance card" when we are old!

In addition to careful calculations to fully prepare the foundation for life in old age, we think our country needs to learn from advanced and effective elderly care models in the world to support the elderly to live healthy and quality lives in the near future.

The dreams of the old people around me

According to statistics from the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, up to now, Vietnam has about 14.4 million people after retirement age.

Among them, there are about 8 million people who are over retirement age but do not have pensions and monthly benefits. And countless elderly people around me who do not have "savings" are struggling to make ends meet in life.

Back to the case of my aunt, who used to be a worker at a tobacco factory. At that time, the factory dissolved when she only had about 5 years left to participate in social insurance to be eligible for pension.

The "young rice" that had to be harvested at that time was a decent amount of money to help my aunt repair the house and cover living expenses.

After leaving her job for a long time, she tried many jobs to make a living and then stopped at the incense making business.

The dizzy head, vestibular disorder, aching back and rheumatic legs that kept throbbing every time the weather changed made her occasionally exclaim "if only...".

"If only I had completed my social insurance contract back then, it would be so much easier to have a pension now!"

I heard that exclamation many times every time my aunt noticed her health was declining as she faced the hard work of making incense and the burden of making a living.

Having gone through many hardships in her youth and faced many pressures in her old age, my aunt has come to appreciate the value of a financial support when she reaches retirement age: a pension.

Not a lofty dream, that dream is very ordinary, very practical: Having a pension and social benefits when entering old age.

But, for my aunt, that was just a dream...

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/con-cai-co-con-la-tam-the-bao-hiem-luc-ta-tuoi-gia-20241213105344236.htm