Vietnam Rethinks Ageing as Jobs, Skills and the Care Economy Become Economic Priorities

Vietnam is preparing for rapid population ageing by linking longer working lives with lifelong learning, decent employment, stronger social protection and an expanding care economy. Success will depend on whether policymakers and businesses can create age-inclusive jobs, close skills gaps and strengthen pensions and care systems without leaving vulnerable older workers behind.

Vietnam is preparing for a demographic transformation that could reshape its labour market, social-security system and private-sector opportunities. A 2026–2031 international cooperation scheme on older persons puts employment, lifelong learning, income security and care services at the centre of the country's response, reflecting a growing recognition that population ageing is becoming an economic issue as much as a social one.

Approved by the Prime Minister on 3 September 2026, the scheme seeks international expertise, including support from the International Labour Organization (ILO), to help Vietnam adapt workplaces, skills systems and social protection to longer lives. The challenge is increasingly urgent as the country moves towards an aged society while digitalisation, artificial intelligence and the green transition simultaneously change the kinds of skills its economy requires.

Ageing Moves From Social Policy to Economic Strategy

Vietnam's national strategy on older persons, approved in February 2025, aims for at least half of older people who are willing and able to work to have jobs by 2030. The objective signals a shift from viewing older citizens primarily through the lens of welfare towards recognising their potential contribution to employment, entrepreneurship and economic activity.

Around 2.6 million people aged 65 and above were working in 2024, according to figures cited from the National Statistics Office. Official projections cited in the source material indicate that more than one in five Vietnamese people could be over 60 within a decade, highlighting how quickly demographic change could affect labour supply and demand for social services.

For policymakers, however, increasing employment among older people cannot simply mean extending working lives. Job quality will matter. Safe workplaces, adequate earnings, voluntary participation and access to social insurance will determine whether employment strengthens financial security or merely delays economic vulnerability.

Employers will consequently become crucial actors. Businesses may benefit from retaining experienced workers and institutional knowledge, but they could also face demands for flexible working arrangements, retraining, occupational-health measures and age-friendly workplaces.

AI Makes Lifelong Learning an Economic Necessity

Vietnam's demographic transition is unfolding alongside technological disruption. Artificial intelligence, automation, digitalisation and greener production are changing occupations and creating new skill requirements.

That makes lifelong learning increasingly important. Workers approaching traditional retirement ages could struggle to remain economically active if their existing skills become obsolete while training systems remain concentrated on younger employees.

The new cooperation framework seeks international support for reskilling, career transitions, flexible employment, lifelong learning and age-inclusive labour markets. For Vietnam, the broader policy question is whether education and training systems can evolve from preparing people primarily for their first jobs to supporting them throughout much longer careers.

Private companies will have a major role. Retraining experienced employees may help businesses address future labour shortages while retaining accumulated expertise. But companies will need to decide whether the productivity gains justify investments in training and workplace adaptation.

A potential divide also requires attention. Better-educated and digitally connected older workers may find it easier to adapt, while informal workers, rural residents and people with limited digital skills could face greater exclusion. Ensuring that training reaches those groups will be an important test for policymakers and development partners.

The Care Economy Opens a New Market and a New Policy Test

Ageing will not only reshape labour supply. It will also change demand.

A larger older population will require more healthcare, long-term care, rehabilitation, community services, assistive technologies and age-friendly products. That could create new opportunities for healthcare companies, insurers, technology providers, training organisations and businesses serving older consumers.

The government's cooperation scheme points towards development of a Vietnamese "silver economy", potentially opening markets around healthy ageing, care technologies and specialised services.

The care economy could simultaneously become an important source of employment. Older people themselves may participate as peer supporters or community-based service providers, while younger workers could find expanding opportunities in professional care.

But rapid expansion carries risks. If care services depend heavily on informal, insecure or poorly paid employment, Vietnam could address one social challenge while creating another. Training standards, wages, social insurance and worker protections will therefore be critical.

Another tension may emerge if Vietnamese care workers are trained for overseas employment while domestic demand for care is also increasing. Policymakers will have to balance international labour opportunities against the workforce requirements of Vietnam's own ageing society.

The Real Test Will Be Jobs, Pensions and Protection

Vietnam's ageing strategy ultimately brings together several policy systems that have often been treated separately: employment, education, pensions, healthcare, social insurance, digital inclusion and private-sector development.

The Law on Population, adopted in December 2025 and effective from July 2026, strengthens the policy foundation by supporting older people's participation in employment, social security, entrepreneurship, economic development and digital transformation.

For international development partners, this creates opportunities to support pension reform, labour-market institutions, lifelong learning, long-term care systems and demographic data. For businesses and investors, ageing could generate markets in healthcare, insurance, digital health, assistive technologies, financial services and age-friendly products.

Implementation, however, will determine whether those opportunities reach beyond relatively affluent and highly skilled groups.

Key questions remain over financing, implementation responsibilities and measurable outcomes. Policymakers will need to track not merely how many older people remain employed, but whether they have decent jobs, appropriate skills and adequate social protection.

Vietnam's demographic transition cannot be managed through pensions or healthcare alone. The larger task is building an economy capable of supporting longer lives through opportunities to learn and work where appropriate, while protecting those who cannot continue working. How effectively Vietnam balances those objectives will shape the economic consequences of ageing for workers, businesses, government finances and future generations.