Saturday, September 27, 2008

Preparing for Old Age : Social security for the aged.

Preparing for Old Age.

I have today, a few points based on an article {Editorial by BUSINESSLINE dated 27Sept} on the ‘Social security issues of the aged’.

Recent efforts to popularize the Reverse Mortgage Loans by NHB (National Housing Bank) in the big cities are noteworthy. But they are not sufficient to address the economic needs of the elderly. RMLs provide an existence to the elderly who possess a house, but do not have a regular income to sustain themselves.

Most of India’s 4.7 million aged people (7.5% of the population in 2005) struggle to survive. This number is expected to rise to 141 million (or 10.2 % of population) by 2020. this situation could be worse, if a safety network is not in place.

Social security has remained the preserve of a few far too long. This should change. It is necessary to go beyond RMLs. A study be an Insurance company points out that only 24% of the households in our country have life insurance cover; the coverage of health and other forms are even lower. To extend life insurance, health insurance, old-age security and maternity benefits to the unorganized sector, pension reforms are a must and cannot be put off any longer.

Is our Government doing its best (or at least something) for this ? Ofcourse they did some good to the Government employee pensioners recently. But think of those 422 million workers who are not covered under any of these kind of social security measures.

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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Pensioners' portal

Government of India has an excellent Web site giving relevant and useful information for the Senior Citizens and Pensioners. You may please visit :

http://pensionersportal.gov.in/

This provides a lot of information, including Sixth Pay Commission reports, Pension calculator, and others. I have extracted the main page for the Senior Citizens, from this site. Here it is :

Senior Citizen Corner



Senior Citizens are a treasure to our society. They have worked hard all these years for the development of the nation as well as the community. They possess a vast experience in different walks of life. The youth of today can gain from the experience of the senior citizens in taking the nation to greater heights. At this age of their life, they need to be taken care of and made to feel special. Indian Government provides several benefits through its schemes in various sectors of development.

With various tax benefits, travel and health care facilities provisioned for them, Indian Government has created reasons for Senior Citizens to feel happy. This corner on Senior Citizens is aimed at providing details on various aspects concerning them.

Health Care

Health Ailments and Treatment

Medical Insurance

Central Government Health Scheme

Special Programmes/Concessions

Yoga Directory

Health Guide from Public Health Foundation of India

Drug Search, Health Calculators, Medical Consultation

Compendium of Drug and Medicine Prices

Health Portal from Orchid Healthcare





Travel Benefits

By Train

By Air

By Ship

Loan for Financing Trips





Government

Policies / Schemes

Concession / Amenities for Defence Personnel





Financial Assistance/Incentives

Tax Benefits

Financial Planning

Loans

Tax Exemption on Interest





Care for the Elders

Information about National Initiative for Care of Elderly

Senior Citizen Life Enrichments Services

Recreational/Educational Centers

Homes for Aged

City Helplines

Information related to selected cities in India & abroad

Chandigarh-city-helpline

Kolkata-city-helpline

City Helpline(New Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Cochin and Mumbai)





Indian Temples and Pilgrimage Tours

Information about temples (religion- wise & religion-wise) in India

Showcasing Indian temples.

Official website of Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams offering e-services

Official website of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board offering online services

Information and services related to Amarnath Yatra

Information about Pilgrimage Tours in India

Pet Care

Information about Pet Care in India (Pet Nutrition & Therapy)

A Website on "I Love Indian Pets"

Other Resources

Information Centre for Senior Citizens

e-Post, Speed Post Tracking

FAQs

Medical Policies

Savings Scheme

Defence Personnel

Self-Employment Schemes

General

BENEFITS TO SENIOR CITIZENS

1

Facilities/Benefits to Senior Citizens by Different Ministries/Departments of Government of India

2

Discounts in Airfare by Air India for Senior Citizens

3

Senior Citizens Savings Scheme from RBI

4

Income Tax Benefits

5

Charging of Senior Citizens by Railways

6

Advice on Do’s and Don’ts for Senior Citizens from Delhi Police

7

Senior Citizen Cell : Delhi Police

8

Senior Citizen Institute (Indian Air Force)

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