Abstract:
The present demographic trends in Sri Lanka indicate rapid ageing of the population in
the coming decades with the number of the elderly projected to double from 2 to 4
million between 2000 and 2020. In fact, Sri Lanka has become unique in the sense of
having a proportion of the elderly above ten per cent with a low income of around US
$1000 in South Asia.. At the same time the Sri Lankan parents are showing a tendency
to reproduce below the replacement level, which indicates that a mother is not even
replaced by a single daughter. Because of this trend there will be significantly fewer
children to look after their elderly parents in the future. Furthermore, as it is observed a
considerable proportion of the youth are migrating from their place of birth in search of
higher education and employment and will settle down in distant places within the
country or in foreign lands. As a result of these trends old age security that parents
received from children in the traditional Sri Lankan society can be projected to face a
vulnerable situation. This is likely to have a negative impact on the overall well-being of
the elderly.
The study attempts to identify how women in the reproductive ages are planning for their
old age security in a context where their own fertility is below the replacement, through
examining the preferences for co-residence, economic and social protection during their
old age. Data for the study was collected from a sample of 550 ever married women of
ages15 to 49 in three GN divisions of the Kalutara district.
The results indicate that nearly seventy five per cent of the women prefer to live with
children in their old age. Eighty per cent are hoping to rely on children for social
protection and are planning for help from relatives as an alternative. This suggests that a
major issue to be considered will be the emotional and social necessities of the elderly
within a context of low fertility and out migration of their children. Regarding economic
support, only thirty per cent are planning to depend on children while forty five per cent
intend to depend on pensions, provident funds and savings. However, the economic
levels and the living conditions of the respondents suggest that it is very unlikely that
their expectations be will be realized. Furthermore, the economic vulnerability of the
present elderly and also the socio-economic situation of present Sri Lanka do not
indicate a positive economic situation for the elderly.
