CampaignsPensions & BenefitsOverseas PensionsDemand for help for the world's old and poor Demand for help for the world's old and poor
16/05/2007
Ahead of the G8 summit on June 6th-8th, Help The Aged is demanding that people living in the poorest countries should be given state pensions as a basic human right. They maintain that until all older people receive a social pension, the international community will struggle to make poverty history.
According to their campaign, "Pensions Not Poverty", governments must ensure social pensions become a vital component of all relevant aid, development and debt-relief initiatives. And there is now strong evidence that providing small but regular transfers of cash, in the form of a pension, have huge benefits for poorer people.
Paul Cann, Director of Policy at Help the Aged, says: “Where social pensions exist, they have had a major impact on reducing poverty and increasing access to education and healthcare across generations. Evidence suggests access to a pension can reduce hunger and boost income, help families send their children to school, help women use health services, and help people with AIDS to get extra support.
“Furthermore, pensions inject cash into local economies, creating demand for goods and services that help small businesses grow. With people living longer we argue it’s even more important that all older people have access to social security through the provision of a social pension.”
"The UK Government must help end poverty for older people and use the opportunity of this summer’s G8 summit in Germany to challenge other world leaders to take action to ensure pensions not poverty.”
World-famous author Bill Bryson, the campaign ambassador for "Pensions not Poverty" , says: “A while back I travelled through Kenya and met older people living on less than a dollar a day. This is a statistic I had read about many times but never truly understood until I saw, first hand, the impact of such a small income on a human being.
“Every older person, no matter where they live, has the right to life, dignity and security and a say on the issues affecting them. Receiving a guaranteed social pension can help turn this into a reality.”
To support the campaign visit the link below and send an email directly to Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development, calling on the UK Government to take action and put social pensions at the top of the international agenda.