Can old-age pensions help to reduce poverty?
Non-contributory pensions can help to reduce and prevent poverty among older people and their households in developing countries, according to evidence from a new research study, which compares and examines the impact of non-contributory pension programmes in Brazil and South Africa. The joint project was undertaken by researchers in UK universities in Manchester and East Anglia, universities in Brazil and South Africa, and HelpAge International. Old-age poverty is widespread in developing countries, and informal old age support from families and communities is coming under increasing pressure from adverse economic conditions, migration, HIV/AIDS, and changes in household composition. If new policies are not found to support older people and their households, they will continue to swell the ranks of the poor. Pensions play a key role in old-age support systems, but research and debate on pension policy in developing countries has so far focused on contributory pension programmes, which
