Nearly 71 Pct of Indian Elders Compelled To Work
The elders cited that nearly 70 percent of them seek work to support themselves and another nine percent want to supplement the family income. About 13 percent want to be more active through work and three percent mentioned that there is family pressure to seek work.
As per the survey, the significant level of workforce participation by senior citizens is an indication of economic compulsion.
"Though the number of years spent in the labour force is considerable, pension or retirement benefits are not available to a large majority. Only less than 10 percent of all elderly get employer's pension (3 percent women and 15 percent men), but 84 percent do not get any retirement benefits," the survey pointed out.
Eighteen percent of the elders get pension in Kerala and Himachal Pradesh, while only four percent in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Odisha are receiving it.
Kerala and Himachal Pradesh top the chart when it comes to retirement benefits, while Maharashtra and Odisha are at the bottom. Tamil Nadu appears to have better retirement benefits although in the case of pension, the state fares poorly.
