Helping Our Aging Parents

Do you have aging parents? Then consider yourself blessed. It means that you are in the prime of your life, and have already accomplished a lot of what you had been dreaming since your childhood. On top, you still have your loving parents whom you have known since you were born.

But never take this blessing for granted. Many are not as lucky as you. Many may not be having any parents alive, and a few may have only one of the parents alive. As time goes on, your blessings may run out. I have known many who always had this regret, "I wish I had done this ..." for their parent. However, one would only say that this is not their fault. Everyone thinks their parents will live forever; at least as long they themselves are alive. The fact is, we have seen our parents ever since we have been alive. The thought that they can leave us, never enters our mind. Let the truth be told, however harsh and heart-breaking it may be for you. Unless you yourself meet an untimely end; your parents will depart from this world before your eyes!

If you have realized this and taken it bravely, then NOW is the time to do something for them. Never postpone your solemn duty of caring for them; because you may never get the opportunity again. So, what can we do for our aging parents? Below is a brief list that may serve as a reminder, an agenda and a To-Do list.

 1. Give Them Your Time

Aged parents feel neglected and unwanted. As senior citizens, they feel as if they are like products which have passed their expiry dates. This terrible feeling is more reinforced, when they find that many of their friends and peers have passed away. The feeling of loneliness can be killing. Find TIME for them. It is the most precious gift that you can give them every day. Remember the times when they send so much time on you. You were their indulgence. They gave up many of their life's enjoyment so that they can spend more time with you. You own needs were very visible, and you would not have been what you are today, if they have not given you their time, often sacrificed their sleep, rest and comfort. Sit with them, eat with them, talk to them, and take them around; is the minimum caring you can do. Often aged parents, after retirement from jobs, are restricted to their rooms. It is just like putting them in a prison cell. Caring for them means making they feel ‘at home’ and that they are still an integral part of your family.

2.  Taking Care of Their Finances

Senior citizens no longer continue to earn or get paid employment after retirement. Your parents may not be earning anything now, yet the cost of living continues unabated. In fact, they may be on the higher side, if cost of healthcare, health food supplements and medicines are added. It would be good if they have a house of their own. You have to see that they do not face any financial hardship. The house can be put on mortgage, if fund position is tight. It will give them the required liquidity to manage their affairs. Your siblings can chip in, if they are good children. Sharing costs would reduce the financial burden. Do whatever you can, but never let your parents face any financial hardship at this age. Remember the times when they did whatever they could, so that you can have what you wanted or needed badly.

3. Caring For Their Health Issues

As they advance in age, your parents will be facing an increasing number of health issues. It can be anything from arthritis or cataract to Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Senior citizens may not have anyone else in this world to turn to. Some retirement plans and pension schemes include life-long medical care which includes the spouse. Check for any such policies. More than anything else, during their illness, your mere presence with your parents will give them great comfort. Do your best to ease their sufferings in these sunset years of their life.

4. Give Them Your Emotional Support

It might come as a surprise to you, that the ones who supported you emotionally when you were young; will actually need emotional support themselves. But it is true. As senior citizens your parents may feel helpless and frustrated with their illnesses; and lonely because they may have lost their entire elder or peer near relatives and friends. As their very own blood, your emotional support will be a lifeline to them. It will fill the void they feel in their life. Do not miss this chance to repay your blood debt.

5. Old Age Home or Paid Health Caring

In India, it is customary to have the parents in the family. However, times are changing. Many old age parents have their children working abroad. There is no one to take care of them. This situation can be disastrous, when any of them falls sick or becomes a victim of a mishap or accident. NGO’s or paid care givers have to be employed to take care of them. With the risks of theft and mugging of senior citizens on the rise, the children living overseas find it safer and more convenient to put the parents in old age homes.

These are just the most important points to be taken care of, and only illustrative. There are as many ways to take care of old age parents as they thoughtfully did for their children decades ago.  It is not just a noble humane responsibility, but also an experience that is very warm, satisfying and fulfilling. You will remember this for long and feel thankful when your parents are no longer with you. Someday in not very distant future, when your own time comes, you will also be in their shoes.

New Pension Scheme - Retire Well

There was a man living in his late 50s, he had a daughter to get married, a son in his graduation and a wife and he is the only earning member in the family. He had to plan for so many things lined up and most of them are cost heavy. Now there can be two possibilities- the man had done initial investments (stocks, real estate, mutual fund etc) and he sells them and take returns to satisfy the needs along with his savings from the salary. The other situation is that he has planned everything systematically and opted for NPS. He knew how much he would need in future for big expenses like child education, marriage etc. Finally, the man retires- son and daughter both married and living outside India happily. The man now has no earnings in case 1 as he had sold his investments. But in case 2 even though he sold his properties at the time of need, he will get monthly income due to NPS. He still can earn his living without tension and the man along with his wife enjoy their senior citizen life.

The purpose of life is to live a healthy living, eat meal two times a day, keep your family happy, satisfy their needs and earn- how much? The nature says that we are never satisfied with what we get and on how much we wish to earn. But we have options till we have a job, business men are exceptions in this situation. Imagine you are working in a small shop or any unorganised sector and you turn 60. What next? No job, no earnings, what will happen to your family. Here is an illustration to this.

Nothing bad will happen because here is scheme which will provide regular (monthly) income to your family once you retire. This scheme is NPS-New Pension Scheme. It has been introduced by Government of India for providing pension benefits to the common man specifically to those who are self-employed like barbers, shopkeepers, etc. and to those who work in unorganized sector. Under this scheme, individual has to regularly invest some amount and he will get some fixed amount at the time of retirement as income. There are various benefits and what better than this would serve your purpose. It is like you get a reward of your job for the hard work and your contribution to the company.

It is open for every citizen of India and you can opt for this scheme easily and conveniently. It is very flexible and regulated by PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority) which is a transparent regulatory body. Hence, you are secured and keeps a monitor check on the happenings and proceeds. Thus, it is highly genuine and trust worthy. Any person from the age 18 to 60 can opt for this scheme. But when there is an undischarged solvent, unsound mind person or might be a pre-existing account holder of NPS, he/she is not eligible for NPS.

Next section is about opening of NPS account. It is simple indeed. Two types of account can be opened under NPS Scheme i.e. Tier 1 and Tier 2.Tier 1 says that the amount can be withdrawn by the NPS account holder up to the age of retirement i.e. 60 years and Tier 2 account subscribers are free to withdraw their savings as per their requirements.

Everything basic thing is discussed but major question striking your mind would be how much amount to be contributed. So, there is a minimum limit of Rs 500 per month or Rs 6000 per year. The minimum contribution has to be of 1 year. There is one flexibility out here in case of withdrawal. There is an option to withdraw early i.e. before the age of 60. It might be due to some urgency because of severe illness, big expense coming your way, sudden death or mishap. And the other is of course to withdraw when you retire normally at the age of 60. In a country like India, where social security schemes are practically non existent for those in the unorganized sector

Bonded Labour in India – A Form of Modern Day Slavery

        

India is a labour-surplus economy – with an unlimited number of workers willing to work at a subsistence wage – a paradoxical feature of the labour market is the rising incidence of scarcity or shortages amid a situation of potential plenty.  Labour law reform has been in debate since several decades but this has come onto the political agenda in India by the results of the 16^th General Election. it is commonly being argued that the reform is intended to address the problem of labour market rigidities and ensure a smooth economic investment growth by removing the unnecessary obstacles.

Bonded labour is the most prevalent form of modern slavery in India today, despite being outlawed. Individuals and families, including children, are exploited in slave-like conditions to pay off debt. The lender, often a landowner or factory boss, uses numerous tactics to exploit this slave labour. The borrower is often forced to work at paltry wage levels to repay the debt. Exorbitant interest rates are charged (from 10% to more than 20% per month), and money lent for future medicine, clothes, or basic subsistence is added to the debt.

In most cases of bonded labour, up to half or more of the day’s wage is deducted for debt repayment, and further deductions are often made as penalties for breaking rules or poor work performance. The labourer uses what little income remains to buy food and supplies from the lender, at heavily inflated prices. They rarely have enough money to live on, so they are forced to borrow more money to survive. Any illness or injury, often due to the appalling conditions in which they work, spells disaster. More money must be borrowed not only for medicine but also because the injured individuals cannot work, meaning the family is not earning enough to survive.

Sometimes the debts last a few years, and sometimes (especially in agriculture) the debts are passed on to future generations. For those who do manage to pay off the debt, often their situation means that they need to borrow more money so they are perpetually in debt, albeit for a series of loans.

Jobs and Careers : Explore the New

At one point I remember studying and appearing for my medical entrance examinations (this was of course years ago), largely because my father wanted to become a doctor. Unfortunately, his father could not afford to pay his fees, though back then, it easier to get in and competition was limited and so my father went off and joined government service determined that whenever he had a child, that child would be what he could not be.  I wanted to be a journalist or a radio broadcaster and had even auditioned for the youth channel of All India Radio – yuva vani   and had taken a few baby steps in broadcasting, when my dreams were shattered and I was told in no uncertain terms that I needed to study to be a doctor. Competition then was already tough, though it might not have been so nail biting as it is today.

Today of course competition is a lot tougher, but then job opportunities are more diverse and options more easily accessible than was the case previously. And even then, parents still want their kids to go down the beaten track of going to IIT and then IIM and then then land a so called secure job or become a doctor. Humanities students can choose the other option – clear the UPSC exam and become a Class a government officer. The less intelligent can opt for the Armed Forces (yes, they no longer attract the cream) or join a PSU Bank or company or the Railways. That is the end of the comfort zone for most middle class families.

So it was quite refreshing to see Startups have changed the rules of the game and even more so than call centers which were “in” a decade or two ago.  When we hear of Startups, we nearly always hear the stories of the founders and their rags to riches story and that cannot be the script of everyone. So it was encouraging to read how the taxi aggregators like Ola and Uber have created transformational stories – not just for those who were always taxi drivers but also many corporate executives , engineers and management staff from there, who are giving up their rat race jobs and taking up driving for Uber or Ola; realizing that there is still scope to earn enough of a decent living doing so and more ever enjoying the luxury of working at their own pace and desire without the need to worry of leave , late coming, attendance registers.

Of course, it is not all about driving taxis. The point is that the world has changed a lot in the last decade even and continues to change. There are many career options available today that weren’t there when today’s parents were setting up their own lives. So let us explore these options and not be intimidated by cut off percentages, entrance exams and interviews which are all gatekeepers to the conventional jobs and courses.