Bangladesh is getting older, but the country is not yet adequately preparing for what that means. Over the past several decades, life expectancy has increased significantly. People are living longer than previous generations, and this is an important achievement of economic and social development. But longer lives also create a new responsibility.
A person reaching 60 today may still have 20 or even 30 years ahead. Those years should not automatically become years of loneliness, dependency, neglect and social invisibility.
In Bangladesh, the National Policy on Older Persons 2013 recognises people aged 60 years and above as older persons, while the government subsequently recognised them as Senior Citizens. According to UNFPA, people aged 60 and above represented 9.3 per cent of Bangladesh's population in 2022. With a national population of about 169.8 million, this means roughly 15.8 million people were already in this age group.
The number will continue to rise as people live longer and fertility declines.
This changing demographic reality requires a fundamental change in the way Bangladesh thinks about ageing. The issue is no longer simply how to support a small number of elderly people. It is how to ensure that millions of citizens who may spend a substantial part of their lives after retirement can live with dignity, independence, security and purpose.
Bangladesh does have policies and programmes for older people. The National Policy on Older Persons exists, the Parents Maintenance Act was enacted in 2013, and the government operates the Old Age Allowance programme. These are important steps. But policies and allowances alone cannot guarantee dignified ageing.
For many older people, the problem is not simply poverty. It is loneliness, neglect, declining social status, inadequate healthcare and the painful feeling that they are no longer useful. Retirement can remove not only an income but also a person's daily routine, professional identity, colleagues and social interaction.
This becomes particularly painful when parents who spent their productive years educating and supporting their children later find themselves treated as a burden. In some families, elderly parents are pressured to transfer land, houses, savings or other assets. Some face emotional blackmail, neglect or humiliation. Others are made to feel guilty for depending on their own children after decades of supporting them.
This is not merely a private family matter. It is a question of dignity, rights and social justice.
Bangladesh must also recognise that older citizens remain an enormous source of knowledge and experience. A retired teacher can mentor young teachers. A retired agricultural officer can advise farmers. A retired banker can teach financial literacy. A retired engineer can support technical education. A retired journalist can train young reporters. A retired government official can advise community organisations.
Retirement from employment should never mean retirement from society.
The increasing length of life makes this principle even more important. If people are living another two or three decades after reaching 60, society cannot simply expect them to remain passive recipients of assistance. Many will remain capable of working, volunteering, mentoring and contributing. The objective should be to add life to years, not merely years to life.
Bangladesh can learn from countries that have already begun to address this challenge.
Japan offers perhaps the most relevant example. Its community based integrated care approach seeks to combine healthcare, long term care, prevention, housing and livelihood support so older people can continue living in their own communities. Japan has also developed Silver Human Resources Centres, connecting older people with temporary, short term and flexible work suited to their abilities.
The lesson for Bangladesh is straightforward. Senior citizens should not be viewed only as beneficiaries of welfare programmes. Their experience should become a national resource. Bangladesh could establish Senior Skills and Service Centres at district and municipal levels, connecting retired professionals with schools, universities, NGOs, businesses and local government institutions.
Singapore provides another useful model through its Age Well SG programme and Active Ageing Centres. These initiatives seek to keep older people socially connected, physically active and engaged within their communities. Bangladesh could establish similar Senior Citizen Centres at district and eventually upazila levels, offering basic health services, exercise, cultural activities, digital literacy, counselling, legal information and opportunities for volunteering.
Australia's community based aged care approach provides another important lesson. Older people can receive assistance with personal care, transport, meals and everyday activities while remaining in their own homes and communities. Such a model is particularly relevant to Bangladesh's elderly people who live alone, have disabilities or lack adequate family support.
Today's young people will eventually retire. Today's successful professionals will one day need assistance. Today's middle aged parents will become tomorrow's senior citizens.
South Korea is also developing integrated community care that brings healthcare, long term care and social services closer to people's homes. Bangladesh could similarly empower local governments to identify vulnerable older people and coordinate healthcare, social protection and community support around their individual needs.
Bangladesh already has the foundations on which such a system could be built. What is needed is a more comprehensive and integrated approach.
Every upazila should identify vulnerable older people, particularly those living alone, without adequate family support or facing serious health or financial difficulties. Government hospitals should have dedicated geriatric service desks. Community health workers could conduct periodic home visits for vulnerable elderly people. A national senior citizen helpline could provide information, emergency referrals and access to social and legal assistance.
Financial protection also deserves greater attention. Elderly people involved in property disputes or facing financial exploitation should have easy access to legal aid. Banks and financial institutions could introduce additional safeguards for vulnerable elderly customers.
At the same time, Bangladesh needs a national Silver Skills Programme. Retired professionals could be matched with schools, universities, NGOs, small businesses and local government institutions. They could mentor young people, provide training, offer advisory services and participate in voluntary community work.
Such a programme would benefit both generations. Older citizens would regain a sense of purpose and social connection, while younger people would gain access to experience that cannot be learned from textbooks.
Families must also change their attitudes. Parents are not merely sources of property, pensions or financial support. A house is not more valuable than the parent who built it. Land should never become more important than the dignity of the mother or father who sacrificed to acquire it.
The government must therefore move beyond an allowance centred approach and develop a comprehensive national strategy for active ageing. Income security, healthcare, housing, mobility, community care, protection from abuse, lifelong learning, employment opportunities and emotional wellbeing must all be part of that strategy.
The demographic dividend has given Bangladesh an opportunity to benefit from its large working age population. But the country must now prepare equally seriously for demographic ageing. Longer life expectancy is a success, not a burden. The challenge is to ensure that the additional years are lived with dignity and purpose.
The greatest mistake would be to treat old age as somebody else's problem. Today's young people will eventually retire. Today's successful professionals will one day need assistance. Today's middle aged parents will become tomorrow's senior citizens.
The way Bangladesh treats its older people today is therefore not simply a measure of how it respects the past. It is a measure of how it prepares for its own future.
Those who built Bangladesh must not become invisible when their working years end. Old age is not a destination for someone else. It is the future of every one of us.
* The writer is the Editor and CEO of News Network