Ageing in the Twenty-First Century: - HelpAge International

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Chapter 2: A fresh look at evidence – Income security in old age Another form of social transfer: Private transfers and assets In addition to public transfers in the form of pensions or other social security measures, older people tend to rely on income from work, private transfers from the family or social networks and financial or other assets. Private transfers from the family or social networks provide the main source of income for older people in many developing countries. 94 This includes monetary support, transfers of assets or in-kind transfers such as food, clothing, shelter or time for caregiving. Usually, this support is provided by children, and the probability of receiving such support is higher when older persons live with their children or other relatives than if they live alone. 95 In some countries, such as China and India, it is a legal obligation set out in constitutions or other legislation for children to provide support to older parents. 96 Financial or other assets that are accumulated during a person’s working life are more important in developed countries than in developing countries. In developed countries, capital markets provide a wide range of financial instruments for savings and higher average incomes allow for more savings during working life. 97 In developing countries, asset accumulation is part of livelihood strategies. People use assets as a buffer for consumption in times of shocks and crises. 98 With declining family sizes, rising numbers of older persons living alone and changes in attitudes to caregiving to older persons, it is likely that private transfers as a source of old-age income security will decrease too. 99 Evidence from the National Transfer Accounts also shows that private transfers within families will decrease in importance due to development and related factors. 100 For Japan, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan Province of China, it has been shown that net familial transfers to older persons have declined in the last 20 to 30 years. 101 The National Transfer Accounts further shows that familial transfers are very important for the oldest old in Latin America and Asia, but not important at any age in the United States and Europe. 102 Need for policy change Most changes in public transfer schemes will necessitate a change in policies and population ageing will also put some pressure for changes in pension systems. Current contributions cannot be sufficient to cover future claims. But this does not mean that pension systems are broken or that countries cannot afford to pay pensions, it simply means that pension systems must be reformed. The financial resources available for pay-as-you-go systems, for example, do not solely depend on the ratio of young to old but also on the level of wages and productive employment. The challenge of providing social pensions is of particular concern in developing countries where only a small proportion of the population is covered by contributory schemes. These countries are faced with the double challenge of ensuring social protection for a large proportion of the population living in poverty and building stable protection schemes for an increasing number of older people. The economic challenges due to population ageing are manageable, but there are also important political challenges. Decisions about the reform of social security systems have far-reaching implications for the redistribution of an economy’s resources. At their core, the decisions about reforms are of a political nature. They have more to do with what governments consider feasible and fair rather than with economic challenges. For a pension system to remain affordable and generate adequate income, it is crucial to sustain economic growth. Success depends on real economic growth per capita, the creation of full and productive employment, a more balanced distribution of economic resources and, especially in developing countries, on the formalization of economic activities. Voices of older persons Older men and women who took part in consultations for this report and who were not receiving a pension said they wished they were, as they would like their own income. Some of the participants from developing countries said that they had problems claiming pensions because of difficult application procedures or because their ownership of assets, such as a refrigerator, made them ineligible for means-tested schemes. “The main contribution is our pension through which we are supporting our grandchildren.” Kyrgyzstan “I am satisfied with our pension system – you can live well if you know how to handle your money.” Austria “If younger people had jobs, we would be able to spend our minimal income on our own needs instead of helping our children and their families to survive.” Bosnia and Herzegovina “I live by myself; I have a little money which I use to help my son who is unemployed.” Serbia “The social pension from the Government is unreliable. There is a discrepancy between the selection of pensioners and the provision of the monthly social pension.” Philippines 52 Ageing in the Twenty-First Century: A Celebration and A Challenge
I’m lucky to have a large pension “I used to live in inner city Dublin but moved to where I live now, by the sea, when I married my wife. We both live out here now in the family home. I had two children, one of whom has passed away. I have one grandson. My life is peaceful and even in retirement, a busy one. I try to walk to Mass, enjoy a pint of Guinness in my local rugby club and spend time chasing my grandson on his tricycle. I worked in the civil service until the age of 65. It meant that we did save when the children were younger, but we still lived in a nice area and took a foreign holiday each year. The pension that I have now is large and I have paid off my mortgage and was also able to buy a house for my daughter, giving her and my grandson financial security. In general though, I do believe that it is a good time to be older in Ireland. There are many people I know who have financial security. We enjoy free travel on public transport and though the Government tried to withdraw the free medical card for people over 70; this decision was revoked for a majority of people. Of course, things could be better. If a person is on the low state pension, it must be hard to maintain a living. I know that I’m lucky. Younger people nowadays are crippled with large mortgages and by high unemployment. It must be very stressful for them. Throughout my life, I had a stable pensionable job. Young people now feel threatened that they might lose their jobs at a given moment in time.” Tony Fitzpatrick, 86, Ireland Age Action Ireland 53
Page 1 and 2: Ageing in the Twenty-First Century:
Page 3 and 4: Ageing in the Twenty-First Century:
Page 5 and 6: Contents 6 List of abbreviations 7
Page 7 and 8: Acknowledgements Acknowledgements O
Page 9 and 10: Preface This is a special year for
Page 11 and 12: HelpAge International Foreword Fore
Page 13 and 14: In 1950, there were 205 million per
Page 15 and 16: The way forward In many parts of th
Page 17 and 18: Chapter 1 of the report provides an
Page 19 and 20: Chapter 1: Setting the scene In 195
Page 21 and 22: Discussions with older people in So
Page 23 and 24: There are also marked sub-regional
Page 25 and 26: The difference between current life
Page 27 and 28: The implications of increasing life
Page 29 and 30: The challenges of population ageing
Page 31 and 32: The response: The Madrid Internatio
Page 33 and 34: When the law was passed we started
Page 35 and 36: Chapter 2: A fresh look at evidence
Page 37 and 38: I take care of eight grandchildren
Page 39 and 40: Older people in the Philippines mar
Page 41 and 42: Income security in old age The chal
Page 43 and 44: A major challenge in interpreting p
Page 45 and 46: social (non-contributory) pensions
Page 47 and 48: The global financial and economic c
Page 49 and 50: Table 2: Selection of social pensio
Page 51: South Africa’s Old Age Pension co
Page 55 and 56: Antonio Olmos/HelpAge International
Page 57 and 58: Computer training in Ireland. Rapid
Page 59 and 60: Transforming lives through literacy
Page 61 and 62: The rise of non-communicable diseas
Page 63 and 64: Dementia - a global concern Dementi
Page 65 and 66: Risk factors for chronic diseases T
Page 67 and 68: Many of the determinants of poor he
Page 69 and 70: Hospital care in Haiti. Older peopl
Page 71 and 72: Living longer with HIV Among infect
Page 73 and 74: Training of care providers and heal
Page 75 and 76: Age-friendly environments “Whatev
Page 77 and 78: Fixed-rate bus fares for people age
Page 79 and 80: In the UK, 45 per cent of 55-75 yea
Page 81 and 82: Workers in rural informal labour fo
Page 83 and 84: Urban life also has negative aspect
Page 85 and 86: Ageing and environmental change Cli
Page 87 and 88: A refugee in Dadaab, Kenya. A surve
Page 89 and 90: Global response In the past 10 year
Page 91 and 92: In Myanmar, volunteers from older p
Page 93 and 94: I give my mother my love “My moth
Page 95 and 96: Exposing elder abuse and discrimina
Page 97 and 98: Government response Few countries h
Page 99 and 100: Teresa Minja of the Tanzania Social
Page 101 and 102: On a different yet equally importan
Page 103 and 104:
News, television, film and advertis
Page 105 and 106:
Chapter 3: A review of progress The
Page 107 and 108:
At least 17 countries have approved
Page 109 and 110:
Table 2: Examples of surveys and re
Page 111 and 112:
In a few countries, including the D
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South Africa’s National Archives
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Residents and staff of a care home
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Regional preparations for the secon
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Regional Strategy for Implementatio
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Since 2011, Peru’s National Solid
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A great-grandmother in Viet Nam, wh
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In preparation for an analysis of p
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More specific recommendations are:
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service policies across sectors and
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In some countries, programmes to su
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Chapter 4: The voices of older pers
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Older persons’ responses to the M
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Health in older age Overall, partic
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In Kyrgyzstan, older people raised
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Some also refer to the shifting rel
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“Older people were also invited t
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“Older women can do many things.
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“Pension fund officers treat olde
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“In the past there was only one h
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“People with mental disorders are
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In various aspects of daily life, o
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Another barrier to tackling abuse -
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Based on these recommendations, a f
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Chapter 5: The way forward “Older
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concern in developed countries, whi
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Capacity development for an ageing
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Specific actions according to the P
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Percentage of total population aged
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Page 175 and 176:
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7. Unemployment rate of older perso
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17. Number and proportion of public
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In most countries, it proved feasib
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30. OECD, Pensions at a Glance 2009
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156. UNAIDS, Together We Will End A
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286. US States Government Accountab
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UNFPA, the United Nations Populatio
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Ageing in the Twenty-First Century: - HelpAge International

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