Review Article :
A Qualitative Analysis on the Effectiveness of the Social Welfare Pension Scheme of the Elderly Citizens in Sigatoka, Fiji
Rosalie Muertigue and Kelemeni Tavuto
Abstract
The paper will examine on the roles of Social
Welfare Pension Scheme to the elderly citizens of Sigatoka, Fiji. The study
will discuss on the issues encountered by the elderly citizens. The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the government of Fiji through its constitution
formulate a policy called National Policy on Ageing. The ultimate aim of the
government is a protective, healthy and enabling environment for elder persons.
A qualitative data collection is employ in this paper to answer all the
research questions. The study is conducted to 20 elderly citizens of Sigatoka
district; province of Nadroga The study found out that there is a need for
social improvement for an effective delivery of the Social Welfare Pension
Scheme in Fiji.
Full-Text
Introduction
Concern over population ageing in
developing and developed countries has increasingly risen over the past few
years. With the demand from these category had increased, many countries had
now shifted their policy actions in attention to the population of the aged
group (WHO, 2011). This demographic transformation has been accompanied by wide
spread socioeconomic changes, which have principally affected the Social
support systems, especially the traditional role of the extended family found
within many developing nations. With decreasing family size and challenging
economic demands, support systems for the most vulnerable have come under
severe stress. A combination of factors including low economic growth, a large
informal sector, high unemployment, mandatory early retirement and an absence
of significant social welfare and related service programs, pose a policy
challenge for government wanting to address social protection and income
security.
Currently, Fiji is no exception.
While our population is relatively “young”, there has been a profound shift due
to rapid fertility decline and increased life expectancy. For example,
according to the Fiji Bureau of statistics (2014), the child and youth
population have declined since 1950, while working age population, defined as
population aged 15 – 65, reached its peak in 2010 and is expected to stay at
its current level until 2050. Coupled with properly trained and improved
medical facilities available across Fiji, plus the continuation of traditional
commitments from family members in homes, the Fiji population statistics (2013)
had indicated that the percentages of people getting above sixty five (65)
years in age has risen. The aim of the policy is to create a society of older
pension who are contented and possess a high sense of self-worth, dignity, by
optimizing their self –potential and ensuring that they
enjoy every opportunity as well as care and protection as member of their
family, society and nation.
As more of the elderly people are
now living longer than expected, a shift in support towards their social
security is now important. Faced with the increased in the cost of living such
as food, electricity, shelter, medical suppliers and transport, the role of
families in homes in regards to the older persons welfare is now being
challenged (Luveni, 2013). Moreover in the case of Sigatoka alone, other
contributing factors challenging the survival of the elderly citizens in this
area are; family members migrating, thus leaving the young ones or relatives to
look after them, limited scope of agriculture land and soil type, expiring
leases, remoteness from government, urban centers and market, social
obligations, disability discrimination and impacts from natural disasters a few
that pressurize the lives of these aged people. In specific, the most
vulnerable are those who had been involved in informal type of employment whole
of their life and have not qualified for any superannuation funds available
locally (Mohanty, 2015). With no financial support in place, these elderlies
according to Seniloli and Tawake (2015), can be the easy target from poverty
and other malnutrition linked diseases.
Despite of these challenges, the
Fijian government in 2013 had designed an aged policy by insisting that no one
is to be left behind and therefore promote inclusive, healthy and enabling
environment for all people in Fiji. It is a framework of key goals, designed to
improve service delivery to older persons. Because of this, in 2013, the
Government of Fiji introduced social welfare pension scheme (SPS), a
non-contributory pension targeted towards persons aged 70 plus who have no
source of income. To be eligible for the pension recipients must not be
beneficiaries of any other social protection programme including the
private-led Fiji National Provident Fund pension. In essence, SPS was
established to provide income security to older persons living in poverty who
have never contributed to any pension systems and rely on informal family
networks for support. The programme is primarily aimed at “those people that
have spent their lives in the rural areas as farmers, fisherman, and village
dwellers and have no cash income or formal employment” (Government of Fiji,
2013). Thus SPS specifically seeks to provide income support for older persons
who have worked predominantly in the informal sector. In this way, SPS is an
important recognition of individuals who have fallen through policy gaps and is
a critical factor for reducing inequality and poverty among older persons in
Fiji. Under this new scheme, the government hands out fifty dollars ($50.00)
each per month, to all those who are qualified. These money is paid out at the
beginning of every new month, and the money are collected in cash. The Westpac
bank Cooperation had been responsible in delivering this money to all its
recipients.
Foremost, faced with high living
cost and other socioeconomic challenges, each Social Welfare Scheme recipient
is expected to live with the fifty dollars received to support his one month
living expenses, until the next payment is done. With no other financial
support for older persons available in Sigatoka, it is then the purpose of this
research to find out how effective this Social Welfare Pension scheme is to the
elderly citizens in Sigatoka.
Statement
of the Problem
This research paper will try to
describe the effectiveness of the pension scheme provided by the government to
the elderly citizens in Sigatoka, Fiji. Specifically it seeks to answer the
following question:
1. To what extent has the Social
Welfare Pension Scheme impacted on the lives of the elderly citizens in
Sigatoka, Fiji?
2. What institutional factors
that hinder the effectiveness of the pension scheme?
3. What are the policy options
open to government to ensure efficiency of the Social Welfare Pension Scheme in
Fiji?.
Literature Review
The food, fuel and financial crisis
of 2008 has again illustrated the need for social protection, and particularly
income support schemes. They are often considered as an important tool not only
as a response to crises, but particularly as a tool to build resilience in
populations. Basic income security, especially for the most vulnerable groups,
is an element of the United Nations social protection floor, combined with
universal access to health and education. A stable, even if small, income helps
people to meet basic needs and supports their self-sustainability. It can
protect people from unsustainable coping strategies in times of crises, such as
cutting expenditure on food and other basic needs.
Current
policies addressing population ageing in Fiji
In response to the change in
population growth in Fiji and the effects of current economic trends, the
Government of Fiji has committed in addressing the issues and concerns of older
people and has developed a National Policy on Ageing. According to Luveni
(2013), the national policy is “a framework of key goals, objectives and
actions that serves to improve service delivery to older persons. The essence
of the Policy is reflected in its vision which states, “Promoting an inclusive,
protective, healthy and enabling environment for Older Persons.” This
government national policy on aging defines clear goals and objectives
concerning the inclusion of older people as in line with the Madrid
International Plan of Action on Ageing. Its vision is to create “[a]n inclusive
society that instils dignity, respect for human rights and meets basic needs
through empowerment of older persons” (Fiji Ministry of Social Welfare, Women
and Poverty Alleviation, 2011). There are four main goals of the policy.
- Goal 1: Recognition of the
contribution of older persons to the social, cultural, economic and political
sectors of society;
- Goal 2: Strengthened social
assistance for older persons;
- Goal 3: Healthy living;
- Goal 4: An enabling and
supportive environment for the older persons.
In order to achieve the second
aim, the Government had developed a two-step strategy. The first step was
reviewing existing pension arrangements and evaluate the participation levels
of older persons in pensions and other supportive programs. The second step was
reviewing all assistance measures currently available to aged persons (Fiji
Ministry of Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation, 2011). Importantly,
the Government has begun to acknowledge that informal social protection systems
such as those provided through family kinship networks and through faith-based
organizations are no longer as robust as they once were and have become
increasingly unable to meet existing needs. In order to fill this gap, the
Government has suggested that additional policy options should be considered
including “the provision of social pensions, the development of income
generating projects specifically targeted to provide an income for the elderly,
self-help schemes at the village level, and the mobilization of urban
unemployed youth in support of the rural elderly” (Fiji Ministry of Social
Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation, 2011,). Plainly, while the Fiji
National Policy on Ageing is not radically transformational, it nonetheless is
a critical step in recognizing that, as a result of urbanization and the
loosening of family ties, informal support networks must be supplemented with
strong formal state-led social programs, which are ultimately a key component
of establishing a comprehensive social protection floor.
Fiji
Social Welfare Pension Scheme
The study of Mohanty (2015) stated that the
social welfare pension scheme has been useful in conceptualizing their social
protection. Unlike India for instance, the pension scheme is specifically
targeted to those that are formally employed, but nothing on those that are
informally employed (Goswami, 2002). In Fiji, this scheme it is not so, as it
specifically target those that are informally employed, and not on those that
are formally employed (UN, 2014). Through government institutional care, the
Social Welfare Department provides subsidize fare transport cost and financial
support for elderly citizens in this country. Moreover, there are older age
people surviving above sixty five years. According to the Fijis population
census (2013), the multi-ethnic society comprises 56.8 per cent indigenous
Fijians or I-Taukei, 37.4per cent Fijian of Indian descents, 1.8 per cent other
Pacific islanders, 1.3 per cent “Part Europeans”, with the remainder including
Rotuman, Chinese and various other ethnicities. In this, 7.5 per cent were aged
60 plus, while 11.2 per cent were age 55 plus, which is the retirement age in
Fiji. About 51 per cent of the population was females and 49 per cent males.
There are significant differences in living
arrangements, health status and income sources between rural and urban areas,
women and men, and between ethnic Fijians and Fijians of Indian descent.
According to a recent population survey (2013), an Indo-Fijian older persons
are more likely to have completed secondary education, be self-employed and
live alone, while ethnic Fijians are more likely to have attained a primary
level education, be engaged as a family worker and co-reside with children,
family members or relatives. According to Seniloli and Tawake (2014), asserted
older ethnic Fijians are also more likely to be poor. They also found that from
the total old population surveyed 66.5 percent live with others in extended
multigenerational residences, with 33.5 per cent currently living alone, but
did not indulge further on the methods of support available and how effective
is this method in terms of meeting its daily needs.
In addition, it had been said that for the
foreseeable future, older women in the population will continue to outnumber
older men (WHO, 2015). Older women are particularly disadvantaged because they
typically have less education, work experience and income and fewer assets than
men, and women largely work in the informal sector (Seniloli and Tawake, 2015).
As a result, older women are more likely to be dependent upon their family and
state welfare programs, especially when they have reached an advanced age or
when they are impacted by illness and disability. Labor force remains much
lower than mens. Poor health effects weigh heavily on Fijian women aged 80
plus, who are more likely than men to suffer from disabilities and are “mostly
poor, uneducated, unemployed, dwelling in big households and not cared for well
by younger household members” (Senilolo and Tawake, 2015, p. 177). Thus,
although gains have been made toward gender equality and inclusive growth,
inequality remains a challenge
Research studies in Fiji reveal, only half of
the economically active population is employed in the formal sector and
eligible for the Provident Fund, thus the majority of older persons remain
generally reliant on family (children and grandchildren) and friends (members
of the community) for support.
Ethnic Fijian older persons have been
especially reliant on extended family and kinship networks, although this
support system is under pressure (Plange, 2002). For some Fijians, remittances
from their children abroad are their main source of income for the elderly
citizens. “Migrant offspring constitute, in effect, a pension fund for the elderly”
and provide much needed support to those unable to work (Brown and Leeves,
2007). Ultimately, the challenges for older persons in particular, is the
increasing cost of living, health-care costs increasing with age, demands for
cash and increasing levels of poverty (Government of Fiji, 2013).
Moreover, despite the government of Fiji,
recently established a Social Welfare pension scheme (SPS) to specifically
cater for those informally employed elderly citizens living in homes, there had
been no research done to confidentially state that the fifty dollars received
by elderly citizens per month basis is effective enough to meet the monthly
cost of food and other basic necessities of these elderly citizens. This is
important as not only to provide a safe and well protected environment for our
elderlies, but importantly to inform our Government and to all concerned
parties how effective is this $50 dollar monthly allowance received is enough
to cater for their everyday expenses and if for any improvements, how far can
the government expand his social protection policies as to effectively cater or
support our older generation.
Discussion
The increase in the cost for basic items in
Fiji such as in food, medicine and clothing has a harder hit among old aged
person, especially on those living on non- financial securities. Coupled with
the financial crisis, the burden to meet each basic need per day has become a
burden to this group of people. According to the UN Report (2014), It has
stated that this problems affecting non- financially secured old aged is not
only common in Fiji, but to the whole pacific region.
In Sigatoka, the fate is the same. It had been
found that the number of recipients applying for monthly pension scheme
allowance through the Sigatoka Social Welfare office in the year 2016 had risen
by four percent (4%), as compared when the scheme started in 2013 (Social
Welfare Report, 2016). The gradual collapse of the traditional old age support
mechanisms and the rise in elderly population, highlights the need for
financial and social securitys to be in place. Moreover, through this research,
it had been found that most of these aged person – about eighty percent (80%)
living in the Sigatoka district are suffering from some form of health issues.
It is noted, that these health problems is contagious among old age,
irrespective of sex, an extra burden to their expenses for survival. According
to the finding, the lack of proper education is the main key contributing
factor to this problem. Due to their low of education attainment, all of the
recipients to this scheme were informally employed and therefore might have a
higher chance of being exposed to some form of harsh working environments. This
trends has not come in as a surprise. The World Health Organization report
(2013), had indicated that most aged women in Fiji who were informally employed
do suffer from some form of health problems during their retirement age. This
according to this research, demanded most, apart from food expenses.
Furthermore, the purpose of the social welfare
pension scheme from the government cannot be overlooked. One hundred percent
(100%) respondents from this survey indicated that all of them had no other
financial support in place, except from the government scheme. With no other
financial support available, the current government scheme for the aged people
in Sigatoka is so crucial. The impact of this scheme according to the
respondents, can be so deeply felt, that their worry in regards to their one
month living expenses is not so worth thinking about. From their monthly
allowance, they had also been able to put food on the table, and pay for other
needed costs. According to their spending, all respondents indicated that
majority of their allowances is used on Food, followed by clothing, medicine
and then electricity and water bills. In India, as reported by Goswami (2004),
the impact of the pension scheme to the people living in squatters in most
states can be seen and felt. A country with high population growth and poverty,
pension scheme is one of the devise that they currently use to reduce economic
burden in families and attract good will.
Moreover, the pension scheme effectiveness is
not so rated highly, as it is thought to be so. From the five point range on the
likert scale provided, all respondents rated the middle two (Moderately
effective and effective) of the continuum as their best choice. Despite of the
current impact of the scheme to the elderlies, from them much more improvements
is needed to allow the effectiveness of this scheme to thrive. More
improvements on the scheme policy is still needed. The government needs to run
another community consultation or provide a platform in which these age persons
to raise their voice in regards to the effectiveness of the scheme.
Their opinion is needed, because it is them
this aged policy had been formulated. It is through this, the bar for the
effectiveness of the scheme can be raised. In addition, as said by Mabel
(2012), “the government should also look across the fence to see what can be
learnt from other advanced countries of the world, that are doing well in
pension industry and sincerely adopt and adapt for the betterment of the entire
society where there is high morale which engenders effectiveness and efficiency
in the operation of the scheme".
Lastly, Fiji Social Welfare Pension Scheme
reassures informally employed employees to readjust themselves properly into
the society after leaving employment. It constitutes an important tool in
providing financial support to the retirees, thus reducing poverty and boosting
their self of belonging in the community and family in which they will live and
survive. In this global village, pension scheme is now becoming a common global
discourse and handy. Its ripple effect is so wide spreading, let it be social
or economic. On whatever intention it is, it is still one of the best options
available to tackle poverty among old citizens of any country. It has proven
its worth here in Sigatoka. Its advantages has brought recognition of the
centrality of pension systems to the economic stability of nations and the
quality of life it enshrines, pushing people to the extent of their surviving
boundaries. On the other hand, still more work is needed to bring this scheme
to its fullest.
The voice of all different actors is still
needed to voice their thoughts on what they think how this scheme can be
improved. If the platform is so far in reach in terms of policy adjustments,
then optionally the human resource practitioners and other stakeholders in
pension policies and administration should go back to other forms of the
drawing board to seek ways and means of improving the delivery of the scheme.
Only in this, the missing puzzle of its impact and effectiveness as found to be
in Sigatoka will be will in place, thus the truly intention of the pension
scheme will be captured, and its benefit will be enjoyed by all those who are
qualified.
Conclusions
Based on the result from the study, it can be
concluded that there is not much variation among the recipients of the Social
Welfare Pension Scheme living around the Sigatoka District Zone. They do face
the same hardship – socially, physically and financially. With no financial
securities in place, coupled with poor familys Social support and the rise in
the cost of living, these elderlies are in the zone of being caught in the
vicious cycle of poverty. With the government support in place, non-formally
employed elderly citizens are now qualified for financial help from the
government. This has a lot of impact on their lives everyday. Despite the
current function of the scheme, recipients had indicated that few more work is
needed for the scheme to be fully enjoyed, in term of its impact and
effectiveness.
References
1. Fiji Bureau of Statistics Report.
Fijis population and growth (2013) 24: 16-22.
2. Mohanty M. Income support Scheme in Pacific
Island Countries. Suva, Fiji (2016) The University of the South Pacific printer
press Pp: 4- 15.
3. Seniloli K, Tawake R. Living Arrangements of
the Elderly in Fiji (2014) The journals of pacific Studies 34: 129- 152.
4. Goswami N. The Pension Scheme
implementation Process (2004) Administration and Society 66: 241-248.
5. Plange N. Constraints in the care of Elderlies
in Fiji, Suva (2002) University of the South Pacific printer press Pp: 9-13.
6. Mabel S. Towards Better Theories
of the Policy Process. (2012) PS Political Science and Politics Pp: 127-152.
7. UN Report. Treating Networks Seriously (2014)
Public Administration Review 57: 45. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/976691
*Corresponding author:
Rosalie
R Muertigue, Lecturer, University of Fiji, Fiji, E-mail: rosaliep@unifiji.ac.fj
Citation:
Muertigue
R, Tavuto K. A Qualitative Analysis on the Effectiveness of the Social Welfare
Pension Scheme of the Elderly Citizens in Sigatoka, Fiji (2018) Nursing and
Health Care 3: 7-10
Keywords
Elderly citizens, Pension scheme
