Since 2023, OPPA has noticed that it has been losing many members. In 2025, from January up to now, OPPA has lost more than 60 members. Ivo Valdes of OPPA indicates that when you look at the last pages of the newspaper, you notice that many elderly people are passing away. This was one of the reasons that motivated Mr. Ivo Valdes to conduct an investigation, which indeed took place.
A selection of obituaries from 2024 and 2025 was collected for this investigation. It was found that in 2024 a total of 345 elderly people passed away, and in 2025, from January to November, a total of 279 elderly people passed away.
However, the reality is that Aruba also has different life expectancy for men and women, as in every country. In Aruba, men have a life expectancy of 74 years and women of 80 years. What stands out is that, as in most countries, the life expectancy for men is significantly lower.
In the investigation, the ages were divided into ranges of 60–69 / 70–79 / 80–89 / 90–99 and 100–109. It was found that in the range of 60–69, a total of 106 people died in only 2 years. According to Ivo Valdes, this may seem like a small number, but for a small country like Aruba, it is an alarming figure something is happening.
The age group of adults between 60–69 does not yet fall into the elderly category. When you are over 70, you may begin to feel that your days are more limited, but if you are 60, 61, or 62, the pension age is 65—and they still want to increase the pension age. The big question remains: for how many more years will these people be able to live and enjoy their pension?
According to Ivo Valdes, in his view, a responsible government must take this situation into account. We can all be happy that we have AZV, but the public healthcare system leaves a lot to be desired. It is no secret that our elderly struggle to get a doctor’s appointment, especially with specialists, where it takes 4 to 5 months to get an appointment this is unacceptable.
Unfortunately, the very same elderly people who worked and contributed to the AZV fund, which is successful today, are now being treated as if they have no value.
