No children, no dependence: Young Vietnamese plan ahead for nursing-home retirement

The Ho Chi Minh City resident began saving last year, initially setting aside VND4-5 million a month before increasing the amount to roughly a third of her income. She transfers the money as soon as her salary arrives.

Her thinking changed after volunteering at a nursing home. Instead of the bleak environment she had imagined, Diep saw residents receiving medical care, socializing and joining activities suited to their abilities. The experience made her seriously consider how she would live once she can no longer work.

Older people at a nursing home in Hanoi’s Hoang Mai Ward in September 2025. Photo by Phan Duong

Diep and her boyfriend have decided to adopt a DINK lifestyle, meaning "dual income, no kids."

Because they do not expect children to care for them in their old age, they have agreed to prepare early by saving money, protecting their health and considering where they will live. "I want to be able to choose where I live and what care I receive when I am older, rather than becoming a burden on my relatives," Diep says.

Regular saving has prompted her to cut back on shopping and pay closer attention to her health and insurance. She has not selected a nursing home but plans to increase her savings as her income rises while researching the costs and quality of different senior care options.

Quoc Dat, 30, of Phan Thiet, has also researched nursing homes as part of his retirement planning. Basic fees at some facilities already exceed VND10 million a month, while assistance with bathing, washing hair, moving around, and personal caring for those who cannot look after themselves cost extra.

"Nursing home expenses go beyond accommodation and meals," Dat says. "As your health declines, you need more assistance and the costs rise. Without preparing from a young age, they can become a major financial burden."

Dat puts part of his monthly income into a retirement fund. He favors facilities with medical staff on duty, regular health monitoring, emergency care, and convenient hospital transfers. He has also established a separate fund for medical examinations, treatment, preventive care, and vaccines.

He plans to get shingles and respiratory syncytial virus shots when he reaches the recommended ages and to keep up with his flu shots.

More young adults are considering nursing homes for later life, particularly those who are single, do not have children, or do not want to depend on them.

Besides accommodation and meals, residents may have to pay for help with personal hygiene and mobility, health monitoring, medication management, rehabilitation, and care if they lose the ability to live independently.

Such plans therefore require substantial, dependable financial resources.

Sixty-five percent of surveyed Gen Z adults in the U.S. believed they would be financially prepared for retirement, according to Northwestern Mutual’s 2023 Planning & Progress Study. The corresponding figures were 54% for millennials, 52% for nonretired baby boomers, and 45% for Gen Xers.

Sixty-six percent of Gen Z workers in the U.S. were saving for retirement and had started at a median age of 19, the Transamerica Institute’s 23rd annual retirement survey found. Seventy-eight percent had also saved money for healthcare expenses.

Vietnam entered the population-aging stage in 2011 and is among the world’s fastest-aging countries. It had some 14.2 million people aged 60 or older in 2024, 2.8 million more than in 2019, according to the General Statistics Office.

The number is projected to rise to 18 million by 2030. By 2050, they are expected to account for more than 25% of Vietnam’s population, according to the United Nations Population Fund.

Demand for nursing homes is expected to rise as the population ages, families become smaller, and more people choose not to marry or have children.

Such facilities are increasingly seen as places offering housing, daily assistance, medical care, and social interaction, rather than being meant solely for older people without relatives.

Anyone planning to enter a nursing home should budget for medical care, insurance, regular examinations, and disease prevention in addition to accommodation and food, Dr. Nguyen Tien Dao, a medical manager at the VNVC vaccination network, says.

Vietnamese have an average life expectancy of 74.7 years but an average healthy life expectancy of around 65.4 years. Older adults have an average of 2.7 chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, and memory loss.

Thirty-five percent of workers feared declining health that would require long-term care, while 31% worried about the potential cost of such care, the Transamerica survey found.

A young adult undergoes screening before vaccination at a VNVC center. Photo by Hoang Duong.

Dao says many young adults are making long-term health plans.

Along with receiving vaccines currently recommended for them, they are researching those advised in middle and old age, including vaccines against shingles, RSV, and pneumococcal disease to budget accordingly, he reveals.

These diseases can severely affect older adults, he says.

Weakened immune systems and underlying medical conditions increase their risk of serious illness, hospitalization, prolonged recovery, and loss of independence, he says.

Because some vaccines are recommended based on age or individual risk, people should seek professional advice and receive them at the appropriate time, he says.

He advises people to prepare for a healthier old age by receiving recommended vaccines and boosters throughout their lives.

They should also eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, limit tobacco and alcohol, and undergo regular checkups to detect and manage chronic diseases. These measures can reduce the risk of losing independence and requiring extensive care later in life.