Malawi introducing pension for citizens aged above 60

The Malawi government on Thursday said that it was planning to introduce an old age non-contributory scheme for citizens aged 60 years and above, a development which will please the nation’s senior citizens whose country was among those left in the southern African region without such a facility.

Secretary for Persons with Disability and the Elderly, Elias Ngongondo, told journalists in Lilongwe ahead of International Day for Older Persons that the pension will provide the elderly and their wider households with significantly increased protection from abject poverty.

\"The cash would help older people afford food, enable them to access services such as healthcare, support the huge caring role that they play and facilitate investment within communities,\" he said.

The money would, therefore, enable senior citizens to make a positive contribution to society rather than being regarded as a financial burden as was the current case.

Ngongondo observed that as people aged, they are more likely to have decreased physical abilities, health problems and even become disabled, reducing their ability to work, while at the same time increasing their expenditure.

The International Day for Older Persons was set aside by the United Nations to be commemorated on every 1 October but Malawi will commemorate the occasion on 4 October under “Rights of Older Persons” as its theme.