Today, Sri Lankans went to the polls to vote in their presidential elections. In recent weeks, the issue of non-contributory pensions has been taken up by the two main candidates.

“A pension for everyone over 65”

Current President, Mahinda Chintana, pledged: “I will introduce a pension scheme for every citizen over 65 years of age.”

The main opposition candidate, General Sarath Fonseka, stated: "Steps will be taken to provide protection for those working in the informal sector in their old age."

Majority have no pension

A non-contributory pension in Sri Lanka would be an important step to addressing old age income security. The vast majority of older people are unable to get a pension or any other form of income support.

The level of pension being pledged is unclear, but a study undertaken by HelpAge International and HelpAge Sri Lanka, Tackling poverty in old age: a universal pension for Sri Lanka, gives an idea of the how achievable a universal pension is.

Pension would benefit 1.5 million older people

A pension for all citizens over the age of 65 would benefit around 1.5 million Sri Lankans – about 7% of the total population. It would cost 42.5 billion rupees (US$384 million) or 1.2% of the GDP.

This is similar to the amount spent by countries such as Bolivia and Namibia on their universal pensions.

The study also looked at how Sri Lanka could finance a universal pension, and found that this could be done through small increases in the rate of VAT.

The discussion of non-contributory pensions in election debates echoes experiences in other countries around the world. In the Lesotho elections of 2007, the level and eligibility age of the near-universal non-contributory pension were key topics.

Non-contributory pensions were also a hot election topic in Malawi in 2008. And in 2005, a key pledge of the winning party in Mauritius' election was to scrap unpopular means-testing which had been imposed on pensions a year earlier.

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Read the news story on the launch of the report