NEW DELHI: One in every three elders reported not having any income in the past one year, 32% elderly or their spouses had an annual income of less than Rs 50,000 and only 29% elderly reported having access to social security schemes like old-age pension, contributory pension or provident fund. Nearly, 65% of elders reported that they were financially not secure with their current income andaccess to savings and investments.
These findings are part of a report released by voluntary organisation ‘HelpAge India‘ on the eve of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day observed on June 15.As many as 5,169 elders and 1,333 caregivers’ primary family members were surveyed across 20 Tier I and Tier II cities, in 10 states. The study captured the experiences of elderly from cities like Jaipur, Faridabad, Panipat, Kanpur, Indore, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Solapur, Chennai and Bengaluru.
These findings are important in backdrop of significant demographic shift in India with population above 60 to double from 10.5% in 2022 to 20.8% by 2050. The report, ‘Ageing in India: Exploring Preparedness & Response to Care Challenges’, showed that only 31% elderly reported access to health insurance.
Elder abuse continues to be a major concern, with 7% elderly admitting to being a victim of abuse with sons (42%) and daughters-in-law (28%) being primary perpetrators. “A higher percentage of elderly who faced abuse in past year were illiterate, and the abuse increased with decrease in income of elderly, as majority of the respondents (73%) who faced abuse reported an annual income of less than Rs 100,000,” the report said.