Paper short abstract:

Ageing is a rising trend in Egypt, with changes in both age group composition and living arrangements of the elderly. Old people are vulnerable to poverty, and intergenerational transfers within the family assume a main role.

Paper long abstract:

Ageing is a rising trend in Egypt, with recent changes in living arrangements of the elderly and in cross-generational ties.

Old people are vulnerable to poverty, and their living conditions are highly variable within the country. According to Egyptian laws, there is a monthly pension for all Egyptian employees, but few individuals are entitled to these pensions, in particular among women. Other (minute) benefits to the poor deprived families come from the Ministry of Social Affairs (MSA) and from religious bodies and Nongovernmental Organizations. Social protection is weak, and families remain the main source of support in old age.

Our aim is to evaluate the spread of vulnerability among old Egyptian people and the role of various types of support flows within families.

We utilize individual data from Egypt Labor Market Survey 1998 and 2006, that inform about personal characteristics of all household members, housing assets and conditions, non work-related sources of income, monetary flows from relatives.

To assess the situations of older people and the way families support their needs, we consider:

- characteristics and trends of elderly living arrangements, with attention on intergenerational co-residence;

-monetary flows to the families including elderly people both from institutional mechanisms (monthly pensions, payments from MSA or from other associations) and from intergenerational transfers within families, including remittances from family members who emigrated.

First results suggest a good deal of reciprocity in exchanges within families, and some exchanges - especially financial ones - frequently involve family members who live elsewhere.