Retirement Living Summit – November 2016

Retirement Living Summit – November 2016The Asia Pacific’s ageing market, expected to top AU$4.45 trillion by 2025, presents unprecedented opportunities for products and services that address the needs of older adults, says Ageing Asia’s, Janice Chia, who will speak at the Retirement Living Summit.Chia is founder and managing director of Singapore-based social enterprise and consultancy, Ageing Asia.She says the Asia Pacific Silver Economy Business Opportunities Report, released last year, predicts Australia’s ageing market alone will reach almost $220 billion by 2025.”The biggest opportunities uncovered in the report are the middle-income and high net worth market segments – in other words, the baby boomers market,” Chia explains.The report examines a range of factors, including life expectancy and per capita household savings, to determine the total market potential for the region’s ageing population.Singapore was ranked first of 15 regions in terms of market potential, followed by Hong Kong and Australia.Chia says businesses throughout the region are starting to look at ageing demographics as “one of the key considerations for business strategies”. “A range of products and services that support active ageing and ageing in place will appeal to the baby boomer market, such as integrated retirement villages with recreational, wellness and medical programs that reflect luxury resort-style living growing in popularity,” she says.Products and services that facilitate better in-home care, as well as care robotics and assistive living technologies, are also on the rise, as is the overall healthy living movement, she adds.”This more health-conscious generation of baby boomers is taking active steps to manage their health, exercise and diet. “The question for business wanting to cater to the needs of a well-travelled, affluent and educated baby boomer cohort is: how do we create products and services that promote wellness and support active ageing and ageing in place?”After establishing Ageing Asia in 2009, Chia has been focused on engaging with the business community to create better products and services that enable healthy ageing, independent ageing and dignified ageing.”I believe that social challenges of ageing can be transformed into economic opportunities,” she adds.Chia points to ASPIRE55, Asia’s first virtual retirement village in Singapore, which she established to provide what she calls “active agers” with a “platform to age in place, but one that continues to foster community spirit through events and programs that promote fun, healthy and active ageing.”Ageing has always been viewed as an academic or governmental issue. As such, the business sector has always viewed engagements with the ageing sector as corporate social responsibility.”But this is set to change, and Chia says “baby boomers will transform the ageing sector because their capacity to spend will influence every sector of our economy.”This spending will be on more than just care – they will spend on lifestyle, transport, housing, services and more. The biggest challenge is how will businesses change their strategies so that they can successfully capture this spending potential.”The Retirement Living Summit will be held in Melbourne from 28-29 November, and will explore how the industry can promote health and wellness. Book your ticket today: http://www.retirementlivingsummit.com/