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Income Support for the Elderly in Zimbabwe
Abstract
The low economic status of the elderly has been recognized and yet very little research has been carried out in this area. This paper reports on a study carried out on elderly people aged 60 years and over in Harare and Mutare in Zimbabwe, and villages located 50km of these cities.
The main areas of study were the reported cash income and its sources, source of income in an emergency and the respondents’ satisfaction with levels of the same. The study showed that slightly less than three-quarters of the rural elderly and slightly more than half of the urban elderly had incomes less than the minimum wage specified then. Urban incomes were higher. Two-fifths of respondents were unemployed, with an equal number employed mostly in manual and low paying jobs. The majority were self-employed or in subsistence farming. A large number depended on remittances or charity. There were no significant differences in satisfaction with incomes between the rural and urban elderly inspite of the differences in the type of residence. Policy suggestions are discussed briefly.
The main areas of study were the reported cash income and its sources, source of income in an emergency and the respondents’ satisfaction with levels of the same. The study showed that slightly less than three-quarters of the rural elderly and slightly more than half of the urban elderly had incomes less than the minimum wage specified then. Urban incomes were higher. Two-fifths of respondents were unemployed, with an equal number employed mostly in manual and low paying jobs. The majority were self-employed or in subsistence farming. A large number depended on remittances or charity. There were no significant differences in satisfaction with incomes between the rural and urban elderly inspite of the differences in the type of residence. Policy suggestions are discussed briefly.
