NO COUNTRY FOR OLD PEOPLE

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD PEOPLE
            India is the worst place for retirement, says global index

ECONOMICTIMES.COM|Jul 20, 2016, 01.16 PM IST


India also ranked the worst for happiness, air quality and water sanitation while improving its score in governance, interest rate level and non-insured health expenditure.NEW DELHI: Retiring in India is very bad idea. The country ranked last in the Natixis Global Asset Management's fourth annual GlobalRetirement Index (GRI), making it the world's worst country for retirees. 

Switzerland, Norway and Iceland are among the top three countries to retire, followed by the United States, which is ranked 14th. 

The list by Natixis ranks 43 nations compared to 150 last year with 34 from IMF's advanced economies, five from OECD and four fromBRICS. 

In last year's survey, India scored No. 88 among the 150 countries ranked, but was the worst performing BRICS country. 

The methodology changed this year with 5-year average of real interest and inflation being considered, instead of the earlier 3 years.

The annual retirement index is compiled with the objective of providing a global benchmark for retirees and future retirees to evaluate and compare the suitability of nations globally in meeting retirement expectations, needs and ambitions, the report said. 

Elderly population in India crossed the 100 million mark back in 2014 with half of them below the poverty line. A report by HelpAge India last year said that elderly will constitute 20 per cent of India's population by 2050. The same report pegged India's elderly population at 143 million by 2021. 

India's performance in the GRIs sub-index Health was worst among the 43 nations. 

"In the health sub-index, India ranks last. India has a health index score of just 4%, the lowest score in any sub-index in this year's GRI," the report said. 

India has the lowest ranks for health expenditure per capita, non-insured health expenditure and life expectancy out of all countries measured in this year's GRI. While people in urban areas have greater access to adequate healthcare services, India's massive rural population is still denied basic healthcare, the report added. 

India's budgetary allocation stands at 1.3 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which pales in comparison to the BRICS allocation of anywhere between 3.5-4 per cent of GDP and is almost half of the 12th five-year plan's target of 2.5 per cent of GDP. 

However, the country performed well in old-age dependency (1st) and tax pressure (3rd) but its consistently high inflation and high public debt for a developing country is a problem, the report notes. 

India also ranked the worst for happiness, air quality and water sanitation while improving its score in governance, interest rate level and non-insured health expenditure. 

"India is last in the quality of Life sub-index with a score of 6%. India has the lowest score for air quality, happiness and water and sanitation and the second to last in biodiversity and habitat," Natixis said in the report.