High living costs and underemployment are forcing more young adults to rely on ageing parents, raising concerns over family strain and weak social protection. — The Star
PETALING JAYA: In some rich countries, soaring living costs combined with a shortage of high-skilled jobs leave many graduates too poor to afford rent or support themselves.
As a result, many rely on their ageing parents well into their golden years.
This trend - highly educated adults perpetually stuck in menial jobs and still living with elderly parents for financial support - is known by various colourful terms.
In South Korea, they are sometimes called the ‘Kangaroo Tribe’ - young adults, often university graduates, who remain financially dependent on their parents due to job scarcity and high living costs.
Italy uses the term ‘Bamboccioni’, or ‘big babies’, for adults who cling to parents for financial support.
In Japan, it is referred to as the ‘8050 problem’, where parents in their 80s support children in their 50s.
Could such a phenomenon happen in Malaysia?
Some adult children live with their parents to care for them in old age.
And not all parents provide financial help because their children are unable to support themselves.
The problem, experts say, arises when elderly parents have no choice but to house and financially support adult children for years because the children cannot earn enough to live independently.
Malaysia, they add, needs to tackle underemployment and income insecurity among working-age adults to avoid such a fate.
Underemployment - when graduates get stuck in low-paying jobs that are below their qualifications - is a growing concern.
Figures from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) show that the country had a total of 5.98 million degree and diploma holders, in 2024.
Of these, nearly five million were employed, 165,900 unemployed and the remainder were outside the labour force, largely due to further study.
“Although graduate unemployment was relatively low at 3.2%, nearly one-third (27%) of graduates were underemployed, working in low-paying jobs that do not require their qualifications,” said Associate Professor Tey Nai Peng of Universiti Malaya.
DOSM data show underemployed graduates earn, on average, 55% less than those in skilled jobs - RM2,550 per month in semi-skilled positions compared with RM5,723 in skilled roles.
Tey said ageing parents who have to continue supporting adult children could eventually face financial problems.
“This reversal of caregiving roles creates stress, resentment and strained family relationships,” he said, adding that retirement savings could get depleted if parents have to divert pensions and savings to support adult children.
Tey said that adult children who are dependent on their parents would likely not be able to support them financially in old age.
This could push more older adults into institutional care and intensify pressure on Malaysia’s fragile long-term care infrastructure.
“When parents withdraw EPF savings or pensions to support financially dependent children, their own retirement security is eroded,” he said.
Tey warned that financial depletion could increase reliance on public assistance and healthcare subsidies, placing further strain on the social protection system.
Beyond the economic impact, Tey said the emotional toll on families can be severe.
Ageing parents may experience anxiety as their savings are depleted, while prolonged sacrifices that fail to stabilise their children’s finances can deepen feelings of disappointment and depression.
For middle-aged adults, prolonged dependence can undermine dignity and self-worth.
“This often results in social isolation, strained family ties and withdrawal from community life,” he added.
Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing senior research officer Chai Sen Tyng said the deeper risk lies not only in graduate underemployment, but in widespread income insecurity in later life, combined with weak social protection systems.
“Income insecurity in later life is a major contributor to old-age poverty,” he said, noting that Malaysia’s long-term care and social protection systems remain underdeveloped, leaving unpaid family caregivers - especially women - as the default option.
Chai warned income insecurity in later life could create an intergenerational squeeze, where both elderly parents and adult children are financially vulnerable.
“Without stronger pensions and sustainable long-term care financing, more households may qualify for public assistance and healthcare subsidies,” he said, adding that pension reform and national long-term care financing mechanisms are necessary.
Sunway University economics professor Prof Yeah Kim Leng said widespread underemployment would leave many individuals without long-term financial security.
“This will lead to younger generations being financially dependent on ageing parents and future inheritance,” he said, noting that wealthier households are less affected due to intergenerational wealth transfer.
He warned that the presence of more than 160,000 unemployed graduates means labour market conditions could deteriorate quickly if economic growth slows, with risks from artificial intelligence, digital disruption and wage stagnation.
“The concern is that Malaysia could grow old before it becomes rich,” he said.
