Ageing in the Twenty-First Century: - HelpAge International

Chapter 2: A fresh look at evidence – Income security in old age
Map 1: Old-age pension beneficiaries as a percentage of the population
above retirement age, latest available year
Less than 20 per cent
20-50 per cent
50-90 per cent
90+ per cent
No data
Source: International Labour Organization,
World Social Security Report 2010/11
(Geneva, 2011). 65
Note: The boundaries shown on this
map do not imply official endorsement
or acceptance by the United Nations.
The low coverage of pension systems stems largely
from many countries’ dependence on contributory
schemes. In the context of high poverty and informal
employment, these exclude large portions of the
population and those who do receive pensions have
usually spent their lives working in the formal sector
(see Map 1). As a result, women are far less likely to be
in receipt of contributory pensions than men. Figures
from Bangladesh show that only 10 per cent of those
who receive a contributory pension are women. 64
Challenges for pension systems
across the world
Social security systems have come under increasing
financial pressure, particularly in times of economic
crisis. This is a result of increased life expectancy, the
high incidence of informal sector employment and
the growing numbers of older people, which is leading
to an increased demand for long-term care. A review
of adjustment measures between January 2010 and
February 2012 undertaken by UNICEF found that out of
138 countries, 52 have reformed their old-age pension
schemes.
Reforms include measures such as increasing retirement
ages, reducing benefits or increasing contributions
(parametric reforms) or radically changing the system
design, for example, from a pay-as-you-go system with
defined benefits to a fully funded defined-contribution
system (structural reforms). In developing countries,
where the number of older persons is increasing rapidly
but only a small proportion of the older population is
covered by old-age pensions due to the informality of the
labour market, basic pensions have either already been
implemented or are under discussion. 66
While the challenges may appear daunting if viewed
from a household perspective, they are less daunting
if viewed from the macroeconomic perspective. Some
researchers conclude that so far, there is no evidence
that population ageing has undermined economic
development – either in developed countries that have
the largest share of older persons or in developing
countries that have a rapidly increasing share of older
persons – or that countries have insufficient resources
to ensure pensions and health care for an older
population. 67
46 Ageing in the Twenty-First Century: A Celebration and A Challenge