Longevity – and the myriad implications and opportunities that come with it – was the focus of the World Ageing Festival Asia (WAF) 2025, organised by Ageing Asia on 8 to 9 April at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre.
The two-day event received an estimated 6,000 attendees from over 50 countries, including Japan, China, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Australia.
It kicked off with a cheerleading performance from 60 seniors in honour of Singapore’s own upcoming 60th birthday. Prior to their inaugural showing, the seniors had received three months of sponsored dance choreography lessons from Ageing Asia, with the hope that the troupe could continue performing while receiving token sums as a form of micro-job.
Activities that were held as a part of WAF 2025 included an exhibition featuring the latest eldercare products, many of which were already in pilot testing or in the final stages of development, as well as the 16th edition of the annual Ageing Asia Innovation Forum (AAIF), which saw community leaders, trade professionals, experts and policymakers sharing information on emerging eldercare trends from within their own areas of expertise.
In line with WAF 2025’s central theme of “Age of Longevity: Living Healthier, Living Longer”, discussions were focused on the emerging physical, mental, social and financial needs of a world living longer than ever before.
Read on for some of the key insights shared by Asia’s eldercare vanguard across the two-day event.
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Women live more years than men, but this comes with drawbacks
A key topic of discussion at WAF 2025 was the implications of women’s relative longevity compared to men. Women outlive men across the world, and Singapore is no exception. Here, women live for an average of 85 years compared to men’s 80.
The current generation of silver women has historically accrued less retirement savings compared to their male counterparts. However, they are paradoxically required to stretch their retirement savings for half a decade further – all while grappling with traditional gender norms that might lead to them, for example, disproportionately shouldering the burden of informal caregiving.
Another concern for executive director and group CEO of HMI Medical, Chin Wei Jia, was the natural brain drain that comes as women leave the workforce to care for children or aged parents – a problem especially pertinent in sectors like community care, where women make up a majority of the workforce.
Therefore, Elaine Chew, senior partner at the Singapore arm of global organisational consulting and leadership advisory firm Egon Zehnder, urged for change from the ground-up, starting with how jobs are structured.
Longevity might mean a silver-integrated workforce
Additionally, a common trend in APAC is acknowledged – that this region is fast approaching “super-aged” status with a rapidly shrinking old-age support ratio, brought about by increasing life expectancies and a decreasing number of couples having children.
At the same time though, many of the speakers mooted a potential solution in an increasingly silver-integrated workforce, which would perform double duty by easing potential financial implications on international governments while keeping seniors active for longer.
Dinar Kharisma, senior policy planner and coordinator for social assistance with the Directorate of Poverty Alleviation and Community Empowerment under Indonesia’s Ministry of National Development Planning Agency, advocated for age-inclusive policies at the workplace, which would allow people to keep working, should they choose to.
In a separate panel, former Nominated Member of Parliament and ageing advocate Dr Kanwaljit Soin concurred, reiterating her call for governments to “do away with the outdated idea of a retirement age”.
She also called for organisations to recognise seniors’ contributions with monetary reward, and not just a pat on the back.
Another hot topic – a pressing need to grow the capacity and capabilities of assisted living facilities around the world, recognising that seniors want to feel cared for while being taken care of.
Senior Minister of State for National Development Tan Kiat How announced the inauguration of the Society for Gerontechnology in Singapore at WAF 2025’s innovation award ceremony.
He said, “I am confident that through close partnerships with the International Society for Gerontechnology and its chapters, we can look forward to many opportunities for cross-learning and collaborations to promote the role of technology in improving quality of life for seniors.”
He also trumpeted another new initiative by the Singapore University of Social Sciences and its community partners – the LifeCourse in Online Narrative (LION) portal. The portal seeks to promote intergenerational bonding and shift perspectives about older persons by exposing younger generations to the challenges faced by seniors throughout the course of their life.
The minister added, “As we look to the future, l encourage all of us — government bodies, businesses, civil society, and academic institutions, to exchange ideas, collaborate, and explore new solutions that can enable our seniors to lead active lives with independence, dignity and purpose.”
World Ageing Festival 2025: new eldercare innovations on display
On the exhibition floor, WAF 2025 also played host to a number of emerging products, services and initiatives from across the region.
The trend toward senior-friendly smart homes seems to be heating up, with several providers like BOP (Buddy of Parents), WeCare and BitCare offering emergency alert and intelligent fall detection systems.
In terms of furnishings, there was everything from multi-functional homecare beds (by Innovax Technologies) and AI-powered smart bidets and grab handles that could be retrofitted onto any home toilet system (carried by Radiance Medical Systems) to Oak Spring, a residential interior designer focused on elderly-friendly homes.
Meanwhile, innovators continue to push the boundaries of science and medicine with novel eldercare products. We’re talking about exoskeletons, rehabilitation-enabling smart gloves and virtual reality experiences designed for reminiscence therapy.
On the brain front, Black Group Investment Holding, a Singapore-based investment firm, unveiled several new initiatives centred around cutting-edge stem cell therapy.
This includes NeuroExo, an aromatherapy oil fortified with stem cell-derived peptides purported to enhance deep sleep and support cognitive health; and Meditel, a wellness-focused medical and hospitality facility slated to open in Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle by the end of the year.
The Tokyo-based Pixie Dust Technologies also showcased for the first time overseas a non-invasive sound therapy using gamma waves with potential applications in mitigating cognitive decline.
