Indef Economists: Social Security Systems Must Be Strengthened To Face Population Aging

JAKATRA - Economist Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) Tauhid Ahmad said the social security system (Jamsos) in Indonesia, especially Old Age Security (JHT) must continue to be strengthened in order to deal with an aging population explosion.

This is due to the large number of people who experience retirement from both wage recipients and non-wage recipients, so that the burst of aging population will have a significant impact on the social security system in the country.

Therefore, this industry must continue to be maximized, especially in terms of the mechanism.

"Yes, first, there must be a lot of participation coverage, BPJS (Employment), in the health sector, so there can be a lot of coverage for both wage workers and not wage workers," said Tauhid as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, September 9.

He also continued that there must be an improvement in the mechanism that makes it easier for beneficiaries to access JHT.

So those who have not been registered want to enter the circle.

"Then the mechanism improvement is yes, so it's easier for anyone to become a participant, right, so put it in the regulations so that residents who have not been included in the JHT can join, but the amount of the premium should not be large," he said.

Social policy researcher from The Prakarsa Darmawan Prasetya through the East Asia Forum noted that the demographic bonus in Indonesia is estimated to only last until 2045.

In fact, few preparations have been made to deal with the population of the elderly.

With the lack of income guarantees for productive populations in their old age, concerns arise about the sustainability of the demographic bonus era.

"The current problem is that Indonesia is taking advantage of its demographic bonuses by increasing education and job opportunities. However, the elderly population in this country does not have financial security, due to low participation in revenue protection programs and increasing poverty among the elderly," said Dammawan as quoted by the East Asia Forum.

In line with this, a public policy observer from Trisakti University, Trubus Rahardiansah, said that the government must provide social security, especially facilitating access to Old Age Security (JHT), if there is an aging population spike in the country in the next 8-10 years.

He views that if there is an aging population explosion, the JHT system in Indonesia is ready for the case, with a note that the process of improvement must now be carried out.

"Yes, the transparency is optimized and the certainty of disbursing it, the certainty of getting the money," said Trubus.