Emerging economies face a daunting outlook of persistent old-age poverty. Micro pensions offer a simple and effective means to alleviate this problem.
What are micro pensions?
Many people may be more familiar with other forms of micro finance – micro credit, micro savings and micro insurance – as micro pensions are a relatively new development. They are a form of third pillar old age income security, enabling voluntary savings for old age and aimed at lower income people. By introducing (simple) pension provisions, aimed at providing old-age income for the working poor, the poor are offered the opportunity to provide for their own old-age welfare. This increases their ability to fend for themselves and decreases the dependency of older people on the state, their offspring and/or families.
In this article, Boudewijn Sterk, programme manager at Pension & Development Network, discusses:
- Socio-economic challenges of global ageing
- The 'youth bulge' in Africa
- Global ageing, social security and the role of micro pensions
- The market for micro pensions
- Trends in the micro finance industry.
Read more in the full article (9 pages).
