After employment, pension and income from property, remittance from abroad is the most important source of income for elderly people in Kerala.
For around 8 per cent of the elderly group in the state, remittance from abroad is the main source of income. The finding is part of the India Migration Report 2013-Social Cost of Migration, which was released in the recently concluded Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, by Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi.
The proportion of elderly whose main source of income is remittance from abroad varies considerably from district to district - from nil in Idukki and Wayanad to more than 16 per cent in Palakkad.
Although the number of emigrants is largest in Malappuram district, in four other districts, the proportion of emigrants, whose main source of income is remittance, is higher than that in Malappuram. Palakkad and Pathanamthitta tops the list followed by Kannur, Kasaragod, Malappuram, Kollam and Kozhikode districts. The study on the ‘Impact of Migration on the Elderly in Kerala’ carried out as part of the India Migration Report-2013 by S Irudaya Rajan, chair professor, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs Research Unit on International Migration, Centre for Development Studies and K C Zachariah found that around 80 per cent of the elderly were staying with their children. Around 10 per cent are staying with their spouse only. Altogether, around 90 per cent of the elderly in Kerala stays with their family. Only 8 per cent were staying with other relatives and less than 2 per cent lives alone, according to the survey. Old age homes as a place to spend their waning years are not on the horizon for most of the elderly.
“They have heard about old age homes, but very few have visited one (9 per cent). Most old people have no idea about the suitability for them to move into one. Only 13 per cent feel that an old age home is alright for them. Nearly two-thirds would never think of spending their last years in an old age home,” Rajan said.
The study highlights the fact that children in Kerala do provide financial assistance to their parents. As much as 88 per cent of male and 93 per cent of female elderly receive financial assistance from their children. The proportion of elderly that gets help from their children is very high in the matter of subsistence, medical expenses and emergencies, and in many other needs.
When asked whether they agree with the view that children are the main support for the elderly, as much as 78 per cent of the elderly agreed. “The data from this study does not support the view expressed in many quarters that children are callous in the matter of taking care of parents,” Rajan said. While 41 per cent of the male elderly are fully independent in economic and financial matters, only 10 per cent of their female counterparts are fully independent.