Sri Lanka: Addressing the Needs of an Aging Population

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Abstract

This study is about the key issues that will have to be addressed in order to successfully avert serious problems, or even crisis, as Sri Lanka's inevitable population aging unfolds. The four main chapters of this report focus on these four critical areas in turn. The second chapter examines living arrangements, intergenerational transfers as well as the respect and authority old people enjoy. One of the biggest problems facing old people is lack of independent financial sources, so the third chapter provides an analysis of formal income support programs including pensions and relevant safety net programs. The fourth chapter evaluates the health status of old people and how well placed the healthcare system is to cope with an aging population. Finally, the fifth chapter analyzes the implications of an aging labor force. These chapters are preceded by an overview chapter that presents demographic trends that have contributed to population aging and sketches a portrait of the aging in Sri Lanka.