FINANCIAL DEPENDENCE OF RURAL ELDERLY IN KERALA

Abstract

The present article unveils the vulnerability of the rural elderly by analyzing their financial dependency. The financial dependency of the rural elderly was analysed by taking into consideration the degree of their financial dependence and the sources of financial support. Further, the study investigates the level of dependence on others for financial support based on their individual characteristics. For the analysis, a One-sample t-test was used to find out the significant sources of financial dependence, and both independent t-test and One-way ANOVA were used to analyze the level of dependence of the elderly on others for their financial needs based on their individual characteristics. The study is confined to the rural areas of Kerala. In the rural areas of Kerala, elderly women outnumber elderly men, and the elderly women (28.38%) depend more on others than the elderly men (13.8%) for financial requirements. In general, in the rural areas of Kerala, 61.34 per cent of the population is financially dependent on others. The study found out that offspring or progeny are the most noteworthy source of financial support for the rural elderly. The study also brought to light the fact that the elderly women, care-giving elderly and widowed elderly rely more on others for their financial aid.

Key words: Population Ageing, Rural Elderly, Financial Dependence, Productive Participation, Old-age Dependency