The number one reason to have children in Taiwan is "so they can take care of me when i'm old." In Taiwan retirement pay is relatively new, and even then it's not substantial. There are no such thing as retirement homes, those that do exist are basically for homeless seniors. Even health care is pretty lacking in that hospital nurses don't really help patients, so you have to have somebody there to take care of your old person if they are in the hospital.
So it's on the eldest son to take care of the parents when they are old, he should also live with them. They are put to work though, as they are usually in charge of cleaning the apartment, cooking the meals, don't the laundry, babysitting the kids, and of course their most important duty, arguing with the daughter-in-law.
When they are not at home they are usually in a park, senior center, or the mountainside chatting, and playing chinese chess. However some need to have a job. The most widespread job for seniors is recycled goods collector. You will often see old people with a bike with a wagon behind it carrying cardboard boxes or plastic.
The gentleman in this picture has it quite good, he just has to scoop some hot spices into little bags. He always seems bored out of his mind when I see him, but I know quite a few people who would gladly trade in their engineering job for one where they can sit down and be left alone while they put spices into a bag. Next time I'm there I'll inquire about the pay.
