Adapting social security schemes to the challenges of a long life society: the Indian experience

The paper demonstrates that there are at present several schemes for providing old age and survivors benefit to the people in India but their coverage is small. With the growth in the numbers of the aged, the gap in coverage of the elderly has been growing. Extension of coverage will add to the cost of social security. How to minimise the cost is the challenge before the administrators.

Recommendations include:

• control the growth of population
• raise the age of retirement progressively, consistent with the improvement in life expectancy
• fix social security pensions at flat rates so as to ensure a basic income leaving it to individuals to supplement them through voluntary schemes
• rationalisation of the existing arrangements for health care long term care and emotional support of the elderly