Senior citizen Chan Siew Lin,67 working at a food stall in Petaling Jaya. —AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
PETALING JAYA: As Malaysia’s population ages, more seniors – especially women – are working past the retirement age.
According to the Statistics Department, about one out every five or 20.9% of women aged 60-64 were working last year, up five percentage points from 2022.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the rise is mainly due to an increase in the number of self-employed women, especially among Malaysian-Chinese.
“The labour force participation rate (LFPR) for women aged 60-64 increased in 2023 due to the increase in the number of employed persons, largely Chinese.
“The number of Chinese female senior citizens employed increased by 34,500 to 67,500 persons, with 68% as employees and 26.4% as self-employed.
“Most of the female senior citizens are working as small business operators such as food vendors, hawkers and sellers in markets,” he told The Star in conjunction with United Nations' (UN) International Day of Older Persons on Oct 1.
Mohd Uzir said a higher LFPR for senior women was recorded in Selangor, Kedah, Perak, Sabah and Johor.
The LFPR is a measure of the proportion of the working age population who are employed or actively looking for employment.
The indicator also includes those who are self-employed.
Demographic expert Chai Sen Tyng said many of the older women who are still working in the informal sector do not have a financial safety net that would allow them to retire.
“Many came from a generation that had fewer education and work opportunities when they were younger.
“The barrier they face to enter the formal sector workforce is higher,” said Chai, who is Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing (MyAgeing) senior research officer.
He said those in the informal sector would often work well past retirement age.
“Informal sector workers tend not to retire at 60 as there is no retirement age to follow and many do not have a financial safety net,” he said.
Statistics Department figures show that the LFPR for Chinese women aged 60 to 64 years shot up to 36.5% in 2023 compared with 19.1% in 2022.
Meanwhile, an additional 1,500 Malaysian-Indian women and 900 senior bumiputra women also joined the labour force last year, compared to the prior year.
Chai said many senior women who are self-employed are involved in work such as selling food from home including as home bakers or home cooks.
“From our own smaller surveys, older women are either home bakers, freelance salespersons or promoters or are involved in catering.
“Some of the jobs may be seasonal, such selling kuih for Hari Raya or Chinese New Year.”
The LFPR for males meanwhile fell by 4.9 percentage points to 49.1% in 2023.
“For males aged 60-64 years, the LFPR went down due to a reduction in the number of self-employed, particularly in Selangor, Johor and Perak,” said Uzir.
Chai said most males are in the formal sector.
“Many males who are formally employed would retire with EPF (Employees Provident Fund) or pension, so they would not be interested to work past their retirement age,” he said.
According to the department, Malaysia will become an aged nation by 2040 when people aged 60 and above reach 17% of the population.
Currently, those aged 60 and above make up 11.6% (3.9 million) of the total population in 2024, which is 34.1 million.
Additionally, Chinese women have the highest life expectancy among all ethnic groups at 80.2 years.
It is about four years longer compared to Malay women (76.4) or other bumiputra and Indian women (both at 75.9 years).
The national average of life expectancy for women is 77.4 years, and male at 72.5 years.
