This letter was published in the Straits Times Forum on August 23, 2010. It was titled by the Forum editor.
I refer to an article (“She is ‘mother’ to her mum”) in last Tuesday's Straits Times Special Supplement titled 'Silver and Active', which highlighted the increasing burden on baby boomers who care for their ageing parents, and the sacrifices they make.
I refer to an article (“She is ‘mother’ to her mum”) in last Tuesday's Straits Times Special Supplement titled 'Silver and Active', which highlighted the increasing burden on baby boomers who care for their ageing parents, and the sacrifices they make.
Research has shown that the task
of caring for ageing parents fall predominantly on women, who often cut back on
work hours if they are employed, forego career advancements or quit working
altogether to provide the geriatric care needed.
A growing number of women
who remain single by choice face the same problem highlighted in the articles. Not having a family of their own, they are not
sandwiched between caring for their own children and parents at the same time,
and so are less weighed down by the costs and demands of caregiving.
Yet
the financial and economic impact of their sacrifice for an act of filial devotion, whose only certainty is its indeterminate duration, is a grave issue they must grapple with once the
parent passes on.
While current tax relief for supporting elderly
parents are generous, such incentives are less meaningful to those who quit working
fulltime or suffer drastic income cuts to work part-time so that they can
attend to their parents’ needs.
Can more be done to provide
financial and economic security for these unmarried singles, particularly those
above 40 years old? Many of them have chosen to stay at home and provide the longterm care needed
by their parents so that they can spend their final years in the dignity of
their own home.