The number of senior citizens, those above 60 years, has risen to about 18 percent, according to provisional findings of the 2024 Census of Population and Housing, showing an increase from 12.4 percent in the 2012 census, a senior government official said.

“Our preliminary report states that the total population increased to 21.7 million in 2024, while the growth rate declined to 0.5 percent from 0.7 percent in 2021. The ‘feminisation of ageing’ trend for those over 70 years in the 2012 census continued in the 2024 census,” said Dr. W.A. Chandani Wijebandara, Director (Statistics), Department of Census and Statistics.

She was speaking at a discussion titled ‘Elderly issues and the way forward’ organised by the Sunrise Senior Foundation (SSF), a prominent not-for-profit organisation working in the interests of senior citizens, on 21 July in Colombo. The discussion brought together high-level government officials and civil society representatives aimed at charting policy formulation on senior citizens.

Reiterating that in Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka has the fastest ageing population, Ms. Shiranthi Rathnayake, Director-General, Department of National Planning, Ministry of Finance, spoke about giving the maximum benefit of the ‘silver dividend’ to the ‘Silver Economy’ of the elderly.

A social protection policy is being developed not just taking into account the elderly but across the whole lifecycle, she said, explaining that in the social protection strategy the social insurance/security pillar is very important.

Ms. Rathnayake said: “One out of four persons by the year 2040 will fall into the elderly group. We need to consider this Silver Economy and have proper planning for health, life education, geriatric care and labour market development.

A critical area currently under assessment is assistive device technology, she added.

K. Chathura Mihidum, Director, National Secretariat for Elders, said there are 11,500 elder committees at village level of which only 50-60 percent are active. There are 456 elders’ homes of which only 136 are registered.

“Under the new Policy on Elders being drafted now to replace the 2006 policy, we hope to bring in a regulatory framework not only to compel all elders’ homes to register but also for the authorities to monitor them,” he said.

On a different topic, tax expert N.R. Gajendran said that with elders living longer, the retirement age should go up. “I get many calls from senior citizens on the preparation of taxes. One person said when asked to pay taxes on savings, ‘I have already paid taxes all my life on this income’.”

With regard to the proposed property tax to be introduced in 2027, he asked: “What happens to a person who has no income and lives in his own house? How can you tax this person?”

According to him, the purchasing power of elders has dropped and they need to be provided small tax-free allowances, while scrapping the withholding tax for the elderly group only.

It was the matter of price pressures worrying the elderly that economist Dhananath Fernando spoke of.

Even if they get a higher rate of interest on deposits, it means nothing because they are spending more on goods and services, he said, urging the authorities to incentivise private pension schemes.

Fernando also lamented the lack of short-term stay facilities for elders and proposed increasing the retirement age and providing options for the elderly to work on a part-time or flexible basis. Investors should be encouraged to invest in proper elder-care facilities, with a quality regulatory framework similar to day-care centres for children.

Demography expert Prof. Manori Weeratunga said that while the health status and the economic security of elders are the main focus, there is also a need to take into account a sharp increase in the 80 years and over population. Here the gender differences need to be taken into consideration, too.

“The vulnerable groups are mainly elders in the village. We need to empower senior citizens as most of them are in the informal sector,” she said.

Referring to healthy ageing, public health expert Dr. Susie Perera spoke of how elders who need specialised treatment, such as kidney dialysis, often have to seek such treatment in the private sector which they could ill-afford. “We need to re-look at the health policy with regard to the elderly.”

Sociologist Prof. Siri Hettige said elders are under enormous pressure and social protection is the key to looking after them. “We need interim solutions……what can we do now? We are a ‘scattered’ society and as such, we have no social solidarity. Thus we need to make ageing inclusive instead of being a marginalising factor,” he said.

Chaminda de Silva from HelpAge, said his organisation which cares for senior citizens, has a presence in many other countries, too. “While empowering elders’ committees in the villages, we give training on various aspects to senior citizens who are not active and some elders have done well in income generating activities. We also send out mobile medical units,” he said.

Sarvodaya President Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne noted that some segments of the elderly population can manage on their own because of their socio-economic status. But in the villages, it may not be so.

With isolation among the elderly being a “huge” problem, he suggested the setting up of ‘integrated’ community centres involving all, including children.