Working Elderly in Fiji: Choice or necessity? Kesaia Seniloli and - PDF document

Working Elderly in Fiji: Choice or necessity? Kesaia Seniloli and Rupeni Tawake University of the South Pacific Private Mail Bag Suva Fiji Islands seniloli_k@usp.ac.fj; rupeni.tawake@usp.ac.fj (679) 3232258 1

ABSTRACT This paper examined the demographic, social and economic factors influencing the work types and patterns of the elderly in Fiji. A binary logistic model was applied to determine the magnitude of the effects of selected social and economic variables on work status of the elderly in Fiji. The results shows that among other factors, Age, Gender, Living Arrangements, Education and Health Status were most important in explaining the variation in the elderly working for wages and salary or being in self-employment. For many of the elderly in Fiji, work is a necessity rather than a choice. Key words: demographic, social, economic, work types and patterns, choice, necessity 2

Working Elderly in Fiji: Choice or necessity Introduction Labour Force Participation of people aged 55 and over in Fiji increased in the last inter-censal period, 1996-2007 (Table 1). There is increasing number of people in the age group 55 years and above seeking work as some of them had failed to plan well or spent most of their working lives earning below or just above the poverty line too inadequate to save enough for their retirement. Many never imagined they would live longer than their parents. If more people in the age 55 years and over continue to work, this could improve their ability to pay for their everyday expenses and their living standards. The older Fijians are a growing group with greater longevity as shown by the overall improvement in life expectancy increasing from fifty-one years in the 1950’s to seventy years at present (Table 2). Living longer is an accomplishment for Fiji. The challenge however for the country is to change the perceptions of society on the elderly because as a group they can still be active, productive, politically - their collective vote can be important and they can contribute significantly to society. Table 1: Economic Activity, population 55 years and over, 1996 and 2007 1996 2007 Total Population 55+ 62,052 94,082 years In Labour Force 29,714 (47.9%) 35,914 (38.2%) Money Economy 16,966 (27.4) 23,729 (25.2%) Without Subsistence 7,264 16,219 With Subsistence 9,724 7,510 3

Unemployed 1,147 2372 Subsistence And money work 9724 1403 No money work 11579 9813 Source: Bureau of statistics, 1996, 2007 Table 2: Life Expectancy at Birth for Fiji by Sex (Years) Both Sexes (Males & Period Females) Males Females 1956 51 52 54 1966 58 56 59 1976 62 60 63 1986 65 63 66 1996 67 65 69 2007 70 68 71 Source: Fiji Island Bureau of Statistics About 31 per cent of the economically active population over fifteen years old is in the formal sector and earning wages and salary (Table3). A significant proportion of those working in the formal sector are employed by the government. The retirement age for these civil servants is fifty-five years. The Fiji government supports the proposition that employment of older persons reduces the job opportunities for younger persons and this is known as the “lump of labor theo ry” (Munnel and Wu). Munnell and Wu also found in their study that there is no evidence in United States of America and China of crowding out of younger persons regarding their job opportunities by the continued employment of older persons. Fiji Government however formulated the policy on reducing the retirement age from sixty to fifty-five years. With the gap 4

between the current life expectancy of seventy and the current retirement age of fifty-five, it is critical to examine the continued work patterns of the elderly in Fiji. The consequences of the reduction in retirement age by the government, the Fiji National Provident Fund Pension Scheme reforms along with the increasing cost of living has not been felt as much as on any other proportion of the population as the elderly. Apparently many had not accumulated enough wealth to support them in their old age. The reduction in retirement age forced most of the elderly people to exit the labour force in 2009 and placed them in a more difficult and vulnerable situation than before. However, as people age many of them if not all are not in a position to retire because of inadequate savings and pension. Studying and knowing the patterns and types of work the elderly are engaged in will be useful in the formulation of policies about the wellbeing of the elderly proportion of the population. Although work is important in maintaining the quality of life of the elderly in Fiji, very few of the studies conducted thus far have specifically focused on the labour force participation of the elderly in Fiji. Aims and Objectives The main aims of this study are to explore and throw some light on the motivations to continued work amongst the people 55 years and over in Fiji and to determine the forms of participation in the labour force of the elderly in Fiji. The specific objectives of this research are; to examine the factors that are likely to influence the decisions about continued workforce participation of the elderly in Fiji; to determine the types and patterns of work of the elderly in Fiji; the characteristics of the elderly who continue to work and to assess the magnitude of the effects of each of the determinants of work amongst the elderly in Fiji. 5

The working elderly – an explanation Devaney (1995:172-185) explains that in developing countries as lifespan increases, so is the need to seek income. In these countries, higher proportions of the elderly are surviving below the poverty threshold due to lower income. Therefore population ageing is linked to poverty in these countries. The conflict theory of productive ageing presupposes that because of the need to earn and provide for themselves and family members, population in low income countries will be productive in older age (Merton, 1968). Many elderly persons in developing countries feel financially squeezed to stop working. With increased costs, some of the elderly continue to work in their professions, while some who are more entrepreneurial start their business. Schuller (1987) discussed the intricate shift between labour and retirement. He argued that there is no longer an easy shift from education to employment as well as an unclear phase following working life. Schuller termed this “work - ending” and he had called for more studies on this abandoned life stage. This would include the factors surrounding the decisions to be involved in the labour force for individuals who are in their 50s and 60s. In this regard, it is particularly important to study the extent of the influence of family situations and caring roles on working lives, efficiency, earnings and one’s capability to plan for retirement. There is a need to conduct studies on these issues in Fiji as the population continues to age. Fiji like in any other developing country, the proportion of the elderly that worked depended much on their individual savings and pensions that they have actually accumulated during their working years. Even though people are dependent on these means, they still do not accumulate sufficient amount of wealth during their working years in order to sustain them in their old age. In Fiji, most if not all of the elderly that have access to superannuation funds, have large proportion of their savings used up in financing their children’s education, financing housing needs and meeting other family obligations, therefore reducing their savings capacity. After exhausting all their savings, the elderly in many cases usually depend on the support from their children or relatives or continue to work. 6