Lower Thirds: 

0:02	Reporter: Emily Siu 
0:12	TONY CHU, WAITER 
1:27	KENNETH CHOI, CEO GINGKO HOUSE
1:59	GARY NG, NATIXIS SENIOR ECONOMIST
2:23	TONY CHU, WAITER 

Script: 

Tony Chu just turned 70.

He’s been waiting tables at this restaurant for the past seven years, and goes by the nickname “Ju Jai” - or little pig. 

TONY CHU, GINGKO HOUSE WAITER CANTONESE DUB
(3:04) So many people come in here and ask “is little pig here”? Normally people assume a “little pig” would be young, they can never guess I am this old.
好多人走入黎呢度搵豬仔，'豬仔喺唔喺度呀'，咁通常啲人，豬仔呀，肯定係細過啲後生架啦，點知估唔到，原來我係咁大年紀嘅。

VISION: JU JAI SERVING TABLE OF CUSTOMERS

(3973) UPS (CANTONESE) THE STEAMED FISH IS DELICIOUS

He lives alone.

When he retired at 60, he says no company would hire him except for Gingko House - a social enterprise and restaurant chain that provides jobs for the elderly.

He’s one of nearly 300 elderly people working there.

TONY CHU, GINGKO HOUSE WAITER CANTONESE DUB
(10:13) When I first started, I felt like my brain was functioning at a slower speed. But after doing it for a while, my brain started working faster and faster, because there are so many things I need to take care of. 
我初初入黎做嗰陣時個腦都轉得慢咗。咁做做下嘢呢，個腦轉轉轉轉得愈黎愈快喇。因為好多事情要你去兼顧。

VISION: OLD PEOPLE IN PARK

In Hong Kong, more than one in five people are aged 65 or above.

It’s projected to hit one in three by 2046, according to the Census and Statistics Department.

Hong Kong does not have a statutory retirement age, but companies typically set it between 60 and 65.

Seniors often work to fight boredom and loneliness, 

but in a city with a limited social security net many rely on an income to make ends meet.

VISION: KENNETH WITH JU JAI 

Gingko House’s CEO says with more than half-a-million elderly people living in poverty, senior employment needs to become the rule, not the exception. 

KENNETH CHOI, CEO GINGKO HOUSE
(11:33:07) We're a drop in the bucket. So my, my, I mean, the main conclusion here is that we need a lot more private companies to invest more time and training and dollars into developing a senior citizen workforce, just because there's going to be way more elderly citizens in need of jobs.

VISION: OLD PEOPLE IN PARK 

Last year, policymakers unveiled a string of “silver economy” incentives to keep elderly citizens in the workforce. 

But many companies are still reluctant to hire seniors due to higher training and insurance costs.

GARY NG, NATIXIS SENIOR ECONOMIST
(06:24:10) I guess all of this, to me, is a whole lump sum package that needs to be done together. It's not like you ask people not to retire. Then the problem is gone. So what other things should be included in this lump sum package? Well, beyond raising the retirement age, it is possibly also time to encourage residents to save more for retirement.

VISION: JU JAI AT GINGKO HOUSE 

The waiter at Gingko House may have reached the age when most people slow down.

But he wants to prove age is just a number…until it’s not. 

TONY CHU, GINGKO HOUSE WAITER CANTONESE DUB
(08:12) I will keep doing this job until I get sick to the point that I cannot walk, then I’ll stop.
我覺得我會做到都繼續做落去嘅。做到真係周身病痛真係行唔到啦，咁我就唔做。

As the city's demographics shift, the challenge is clear - keeping more “little pigs” in the workforce to save its ageing economy.