INDIA: Call for an age-friendly national budget

. NEW DELHI, India / HelpAge India / June 28, 2009 HelpAge India has written to the Government asking for an Age Friendly budget for Seniors. It has stressed on three primary concerns: Pension/Income Security, Higher exemption limites for Income Tax and Heath Security. There are an estimated 90 million elderly in the country today and their needs require immediate attention, the NGO has contended. HelpAge wants the amount of social pension be uniform across all federal States. At present this depends upon the contribution of the state and varies from Rs. 200 to Rs.1,000 per month. Able bodied older persons should be given employment/livelihood opportunities under government schemes like rural employment guarantee scheme, and through formation of self help groups, and credit for small enterprises. The 70-year old Mrs. Sudershan Arora, President, Senior Citizens Welfare Association, Rajendra Nagar, has says that with increasing age, expenditure of a senior citizen on health increases and cash flow decreases. One has to dig into savings. Some concessions are therefore required in the income exempted from tax and a uniform pension is required for all. The term “Senior Citizen” needs to be redefined. The retirement age in public and private sectors ranges from 55 to 60. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Railways consider persons aged 60 and above as senior citizens. The Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, 2004, includes, under the term ‘depositor’, a person aged 55 years (if s/he has taken voluntary retirement). For Income Tax purposes, HelpAge seeks the revision of definition of senior citizens as ‘a person aged 60 years and above’. Citizens over the age of 80 shoudl be totally exempted from tax obligations. Senior Citizens whose tax liability is nil should be exempted from filing tax returns. Currently the threshold limit of income tax for Senior Citizens is Rs.225,000 HelpAge has sought this to be increased to Rs.300,000 to adjust for inflation. HEALTH: Comprehensive health cover is not available for 90% of senior citizens. Health insurance schemes should be introduced that provide security cover for hospitalization and domiciliary (home) care, for medicines, consultation and pathological tests for general ailments. Most insurance companies tend to increase the cost of health insurance as a person ages. A minimum of Rs.500,000 insurance is required today to cover for any major illness / surgery. HelpAge hopes Government will keep the elderly in mind during the finalization of proposals for the upcoming budget. [rc] Based on press release from HelpAge India, New Delhi.