Poverty haunts the elderly - Real numbers being missed by official statistics

from The Jamaica Gleaner

Gareth Manning, Sunday Gleaner Reporter

Denise Eldemire-Shearer, professor of public health and ageing at the University of the West Indies, is concerned that large numbers of elderly people living below the poverty line are going undetected by social and planning agencies.

Furthermore, she is advocating the introduction of compulsory pension benefits to provide economic support for people during their twilight years.

The Planning Institute of Jamaica's (PIOJ) 'Survey of Living Conditions 2004' states that the elderly constitute 13 per cent of the nation's poor, and over 15 per cent of Jamaica's senior citizens are living below the poverty line. The poorest and most dependent tend to be women.

Not recorded as being in need

Speaking against this background, Professor Eldemire-Shearer believes there might be more elderly poor in the country than is being reflected by official data, because, often, demographers focus only on the material assets of the elderly.

She says while 78 per cent of the elderly own a house, most are unable to maintain it or themselves, but official indices do not reflect this.

"They are going to be missed by the poverty indices because when you ask them if they own their house, and they reply yes, (demographers) are not going to (record them as) being in need. We need to rethink how we measure this kind of need," Professor Eldemire-Shearer told The Sunday Gleaner.

Noting that the 80- to 85-year-old segment of the population is the fastest growing, she points out that more elderly folk are living alone, even while they might be suffering from various health conditions or have other types of needs.

"As a country, that is the group we are going to have to focus on. We are going to have to develop the community programmes because those are people, in the main, that with a little bit of assistance, can stay in their own home," she states.

Another PIOJ publication - 'Ageing' - points to the paucity of pension schemes in Jamaica. The newsletter notes that many golden-agers are left pensionless, because they had been self-employed for most of their active years, and outside the formal economy and, therefore, do not fall into the safety net of pension schemes.

Compulsory pension proposal

In reacting to this situation, Professor Eldemire-Shearer has called for the introduction of "compulsory" pension benefits.

She says since 1966, when the National Insurance Scheme was introduced, only 16 per cent of Jamaicans have contributed, and in 2008, the figure remains the same.

"We are not seeing a parallel recognition and acceptance of the importance of pension. I want to see portability and I want to see compulsory pension and I'm very unapologetic about it," she asserted.

gareth.manning@gleanerjm.com.