Pensions not poverty

We believe that every older person, wherever they live, should have the right to a social pension to pay for food, shelter and other basic needs. The Pensions not Poverty campaign was launched on Wednesday 16 May.

What is a social pension?

A social pension is money that older citizens are entitled to receive from their government, that does not depend on contributions.

Why should a social pension be provided?

A social pension can mean the difference between life and death for some older people and their families, allowing them to build a livelihood and support their dependents.

• Two out of three older people live in the world’s poorest countries, and eight out of ten have no regular income.
• More than 100 million older people in poor countries live on less than a dollar a day.
• Today, 375 million people over 60 live in developing countries. By 2050 the figure will be 1,500 million.
• Social pensions are feasible at less than 2 percent of GDP.

The effect of the social pension

The effect of a social pension is striking:

• The social pension in South Africa has reduced the scale of older people’s poverty by 94 percent and that of the population as a whole by 12.5 percent.
• Social pensions can reduce the gap between rich and poor, shrinking the ratio by more than 13 per cent in South Africa and nearly 8 per cent in Brazil.
• In Brazil, pensions reach 5.3 million poor older people at 1 percent of GDP. There, having a pensioner in the family reduces a household’s probability of becoming poor by 21 percent.
• In Zambia, a pilot cash transfer scheme to older people caring for orphans has resulted in improved school attendance.
• In rural Brazil, pensions are strongly associated with increased school enrolment, particularly of girls aged 12-14.

The alternative

In Tanzania, where there is no pension, out of 146,000 children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, only 1,000 attended secondary school, because their grandparents could not afford fees.

Take action

Over 100 million older people in developing countries are trying to survive on less than $1 a day. It’s an appalling situation made worse by the fact that many are also the primary carers of their grandchildren.

Help the Aged is calling on the UK Government to use the G8 Summit to challenge world leaders to help developing countries set up their own social pension schemes.

We believe that older people, wherever they live, have earned the right to a pension. With it they can provide for themselves and their families and not be dependent on the charity of their community.

You can help them. Just 1 email can change 100,000,000 lives

Send an email supporting our campaign to Secretary of State for International Development Hilary Benn. Demand that he make social pensions a priority and that older people receive their fair share of aid and development budgets. Social pensions are a basic human right. Help us deliver this message.