Social Security and The elderly

In India, the citizens above the age of 60 years are defined as elderly. Of all the social sections, elderly are one of the most vulnerable section and in dire need of social security measures.
Since old age comes with deterioration of health and lack of ability to earn a livelihood, elderly are in need of -
• Food Security
• Health/Recreation facilities
• Residential security
• Income Security/ Pension
• Aids and Assisted living devices
Among the elderly, the poor ones or those who have been working in the informal sector and the women are more vulnerable and require special attention.

Why Elderly need Social Protection/security?

• Socio-economic and cultural changes like
o Disintegration of Joint Family system which was earlier responsible for taking care of elderly.
o Increased participation of women in work has led to lack of caregivers at home for elderly.
o Enhanced mobility and migration of youth for work opportunities along-with more individualistic attitude of the youth means that the elderly are living alone and are in need of social assistance.
• Increased longevity of the elderly due to advancement in medical field means that they are in need of social assistance long after they stop earning.
• Due to presence of vast informal/unorganised sector in India, most of the elderly does not have subscription to any formal pension/income generating system that can provide them resources to meet their daily needs.\

Extent of the problem in India

• As per 2011 census, there were 104 million elderly in India and they are expected to cross 173 million by 2026
• Alongwith, rising elderly the decline in fertility rates means that the number of persons in working age are on a decline that means the potential support ratio (number of working age population (15-59 years) to the number of elderly) is declining.
• 45% of elderly belong to BPL category
• Elderly women are more vulnerable compared to men due to lack of income, assets and early widowhood.

Existing Government Initiatives for pension

1. IGNOAPS (Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme)
• Available to elderly from BPL category
• Pension is rupees 200 for 60-79 years old and 500 for above 80
• Beneficiaries are identified by gram panchayats (there is a ceiling of 50% of BPL category )
2. IGNWPS ( Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme)
• Pension of rupees 200 per month to widows
• Available to BPL Widows aged 40-59 (after age of 60 they qualify for IGNOAPS)
 

Analysis of these schemes

As per a survey, the awareness about both these schemes is as high as 80% among the elderly, but hardly 15-20% of the eligible elderly citizens have availed these schemes.
 

Reasons for low utilisation-
• Difficulties faced by poor people in providing the relevant documents like age proof, proof of BPL etc. This has led to emergence of middlemen, bribery, corruption and caste favoritism
• Problems regarding accuracy of the data leading to fraud and fake cases (unwanted inclusion and exclusion problems)
• Long waiting period due to delays in release of payments
• Inadequate pension amount (For instance, Bolivia with a per capita GDP about 40% higher than that of India pays a pension of about 1500 rupees per month. Lesotho, with a per capita GDP that is about two-third that of India’s, pays 2300 rupees per month. And Kenya with just half the per capita GDP of India pays over 1250 rupees per month. Even Nepal, with per capita GDP about one third that of India’s, pays a pension of 313 rupees per month to its elderly.)
 

Is there a need for Universal Pension scheme for elderly?

Pension Parishad (a NGO/Civil Society organization fighting for the rights of elderly in India) demanded a Universal and Non Contributory Old Age Pension by the government with a minimum amount of monthly pension not less than 50% of minimum wage or Rs 2000/- per month, whichever is higher available to all men aged 55+ and women aged 50+.
Individuals whose income is higher than the threshold level for payment of income tax and individuals who are receiving pension from any other sources that exceeds the pension amount under the Universal Old Age Pension Programme should be excluded from the scheme.
But such a scheme will be fiscally unsustainable and the government in order to generate funds could increase the taxes which could prove counterproductive. Also, it could lead to inflationary pressure on the economy. Apart from it,there will be a problem in highlighting those who are to be excluded.
Pension Parishad suggests that a cess could be levied on industries/ sectors where unorganized workers have contributed directly or indirectly. This could be an important source of funding and would cover a significant proportion of the amounts needed to provide pensions in the manner suggested above.

Other government initiatives (not all these schemes are specifically for elderly but all are having provisions for elderly)

Atal Pension Scheme (APS)
• A pension scheme focussed on unorganised sector to bring them under the National Pension System.
• Age limit – 18 – 40 years.
• Contribution period – 20 years or more.
• Regulated by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), which comes under Department of Financial Services, Government of India.
• The subscribers of Atal Pension Yojana can receive a fixed monthly pension starting from Rs. 1000 up to Rs. 5000 after their retirement age of 60 until death.
• To encourage more and more people to enroll into Atal Pension Yojana scheme, the GOI is also contributing a sum towards the pension scheme for a time period of five years i.e. 2015-2020.
• It replaces the Swavalamban Scheme which did not cover many people due to ambiguities in benefits after 60.
 

Jan Suraksha Bima Yojana
• To provide accident insurance.
• Age Group – 18 – 70.
• Can be availed by paying annual premium of Rs. 12 only.
• Linked to Pradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojana.
• For accidents leading to death or full disability Rs. 2 lakh are paid.
 

Jan Dhan Yojana
• For easy affordable access to different financial services such as need based credit, insurance, remittances, overdraft facility, etc.
• Accounts are opened with zero balance.
• Provides for accident insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh and life insurance cover of Rs. 30k payable after death.
 

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana
• Provides a life insurance policy.
• Age group – 18-50 years.
• A premium of Rs. 330 to be paid every year.
 

Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana
• Aim – To provide senior citizens belonging to BPL category and suffering from any age related disability/infirmity like low vision, hearing impairment, loss of teeth, locomotor disability, etc., with such assisted living devices, which can help them in overcoming the disability/infirmity manifested.
• Under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• Aids and Assisted-Living Devices like walking sticks, wheel chairs, hearing aids, etc. were distributed recently under this scheme to around 1300 senior citizens.
 

Skill for Life, Save a Life Initiative
• Launched by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Aims to upscale the quantity and quality of trained professionals in the health care system (including geriatric care).
• As part of this program the First Responder course for professionals as well as general public to empower every single citizen of the country to be the first person to provide first aid and initial care in case of emergency.
Note: In India a life is lost every 4 minutes due to road accidents and measures taken in first 10 minutes can save a life.