ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS
2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year 2021 Pro Patria Award PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY 2018 Data Champion
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business
www.businessmirror.com.ph
n
Sunday, June 7, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 236
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR
(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 14 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
I’M OLD, I OWE,
SO OFF TO WORK I GO!
NUVOLANEVICATA | DREAMSTIME.COM
When retirement ends too soon: Why more Filipino seniors are staying on the job
F
By Mary Jade Jadormio
OR nearly two years after retiring, pharmacist Josephine Ballares tried to settle into a quieter life at home.
But the transition to retirement did not feel as expected. After decades of working in a busy pharmacy environment, she found the lack of routine and social interaction difficult to adjust to. At home, the days felt slower and more repetitive. “I feel like I’m often sickly,” Ballares said in Filipino, recalling how she began to feel physically weaker during her time away from work. Used to being constantly engaged with people and tasks, she said the sudden shift affected both her physical and emotional wellbeing. Eventually, she decided to return to work. Today, Ballares is back as a pharmacist at Mercury Drug, where she says staying active has helped her regain both structure and energy. “Sa trabaho, nag-e-enjoy ako
at di ko nararamdaman ang pagod,” she said. “I feel younger being with them.” While her pension was sufficient for basic expenses, she said rising maintenance medicines eventually made her retirement budget tighter. “My pension could have been enough, but because of my maintenance medicine, it becomes insufficient,” she said, mostly in Filipino. Her experience reflects a broader trend gradually emerging in the Philippines: more senior citizens remaining in or returning to the workforce amid rising living costs, limited retirement income, and growing policy interest in “active aging.”
Push for senior employment
THE idea of encouraging senior citizens to remain economically active has gained attention in recent years as policymakers respond to
demographic and labor market concerns. In 2022, Sen. Joel Villanueva supported proposals to expand employment opportunities for senior citizens after the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (formerly Neda) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said workers aged 65 and above remain “very productive” and should continue to have access to work opportunities. Villanueva has since pushed for measures promoting equal employment opportunities for senior citizens and encouraging private firms to hire or retain older workers. The proposal aligns with broader discussions on aging populations across Asia, where governments are increasingly reassessing retirement systems and labor participation policies. Countries such as Japan and Singapore have already implemented policies extending working life, including re-employment programs, retirement age adjustments, and incentives for firms hiring older workers. However, economists note that these countries also developed stronger institutional support systems—including pension reforms,
does not automatically translate into greater demand for older workers locally, except in specific roles such as nursing and caregiving where experience and licensing remain key.
Rising living costs and pension gaps “These elderly workers become the salva vida of their grandchildren” — Labor economist Rene E. Ofreneo, describing intergenerational dependency where older workers financially support younger household members.
“We need a more robust pension and social protection system that is sufficiently funded.”—Labor economist Benjamin Velasco, underscoring how weak pension adequacy and rising living costs are forcing many Filipino seniors to stay in or return to work.
healthcare coverage, and retraining programs—before or alongside these labor policy shifts.
er applicants in terms of cost and productivity. “Firms normally find older age groups in the labor force to be more costly to hire and with diminishing productivity than those in the younger age groups,” he said. Because of this, he added, decisions to retain or rehire older employees are usually made on a case-by-case basis—depending on the nature of the work and whether the employee remains efficient in the role. He also noted that while labor migration has created shortages in some sectors, particularly in healthcare and education, this
Firms remain cautious on older workers
WHILE the Philippines is still considered relatively young compared with rapidly aging economies in East Asia, economist Dante B. Canlas said demographic shifts are slowly beginning to reshape the labor landscape. But for employers, age in the workforce still comes with practical considerations. Canlas said firms typically weigh older workers against young-
IF employer caution defines one side of the labor market, rising household costs are shaping the other. Labor economist Benjamin Velasco said the growing number of seniors staying in the workforce is closely tied to higher living expenses in the post-pandemic period, alongside long-standing weaknesses in retirement systems. He said the trend is not entirely new, as many elderly Filipinos have long remained economically active due to poverty and informal employment. But inflation and stagnant incomes have made the situation more visible in recent years. At the core of the issue, he added, is the adequacy of retirement support. “We need a more robust pension and social protection system that are sufficiently funded,” Velasco said, pointing out that Social Continued on A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 61.6350 n JAPAN 0.3853 n UK 82.7635 n HK 7.8676 n CHINA 7.8676 n SINGAPORE 48.0135 n AUSTRALIA 43.9642 n EU 71.5952 n KOREA 0.0402 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.4172 Source: BSP (June 5, 2026)