65% elderly in India are financially dependent: Agewell survey

 A nation-wide survey was recently conducted by Agewell Foundation on the state of elderly people in India. The survey conducted involved a random sample of 15,000 people across India aged 60 or above.
Highlights of the survey:

• India, known for its ‘demographic advantage’ of a burgeoning young population, also faces a “demographic disadvantage” with every tenth person of over 1.2 billion population crossing the age of 60, and a majority (65 per cent) of them either facing a financial crisis or financially dependent on others
• The net-worth value of 46.4% of the elderly has increased remarkably in their old age, primarily due to a sharp increase in real estate prices over the last two decades. With high net-worth value, older persons have higher purchasing power, but they hardly use their discretion while exercising such powers. Younger family members often manipulate their decisions.
• More than four-fifths of the respondents said that their major problems were related to healthcare issues, where financial status plays a key role.
• The report finds that senior citizens aged over 70 are marginalised and isolated to a large extent. Older persons in the category of 60-70 years are looked after well by their children, but with further advancement in their age, children find it difficult or they are unable to look after them because of their own growing age and ever-increasing responsibilities towards their own children.
• According to the report, the financially well-off older people do not wish to be dependent on government facilities for healthcare needs, as they prefer private institutions for better services. Financially insecure old people expect social security, free health care and subsidies so that they can lead a comfortable and respectable life in old age.
• Older people with sound financial health look forward to risk-free investment schemes, so that they can earn good returns to meet financial needs in old age.
• To make life comfortable and respectable for this section, the survey called for coverage under existing and/or new social security schemes, life and medical insurance for longer years, covering properties, movable/immovable under general insurance schemes and dedicated healthcare facilities.

Analysis:

• The phenomenon of population ageing is becoming a major concern for the policy makers all over the world, for both developed and developing countries, during last two decades. But the problems arising out of it will have varied implications for underdeveloped, developing and developed countries.
• Ageing of population is affected due to downward trends in fertility and mortality i.e. due to low birth rates coupled with long life expectancies.
• In India the size of the elderly population, i.e. persons above the age of 60 years is fast growing although it constituted only 7.4% of total population at the turn of the new millennium. For a developing country like India, this may pose mounting pressures on various socio economic fronts including pension outlays, health care expenditures, fiscal discipline, savings levels etc. Again this segment of population faces multiple medical and psychological problems.
• There is an emerging need to pay greater attention to ageing-related issues and to promote holistic policies and programmes for dealing with the ageing society.

By: Vishal