Thailand’s working population rapidly aging.

For the sons, daughters and other caregivers who look after the country’s elderly population, cost of care is becoming most households’ single largest expense.

The average household spends nearly 30 percent of monthly income on care-related expenses, according to government health agency.

More from Reuters:

Households caring for elderly relatives spend at least 7,620 baht ($217) on them per month, according to the Health Insurance System Research Office, a state agency led by the Ministry of Public Health.

That’s more than 28 percent of the average 2015 monthly household income of 26,915 baht.

[…]

A culture of filial piety in which families feel obliged to care for their elderly means more often than not they absorb the expense of looking after parents and grandparents.

A poor savings culture has left many people ill-prepared to help themselves financially in old age, meaning they must rely on working family members.

More than a quarter of the 66 million population has not saved for old age, according to a 2014 survey, one of many factors contributing to the government considering raising the age of retirement from 60 and urging businesses to hire more older people.

“It is going to be a burden on the younger generation,” said Sutayut Osornprasop, a human development specialist at the World Bank.

[…]

Thailand’s working-age population is expected to shrink by 11 percent by 2040.

For more reading, check out a report called The Future of Retirement in Thailand from the Global Institute on Aging.