Inequality in later life in rural Indonesia: filling the gaps in meeting the needs of older persons

Indonesia is undergoing important demographic transitions at present, not the least of which is an ageing population. Features associated with this are decreasing fertility rates, increasing life expectancy, recent welfare reforms under President Jokowi's administration, the migration of young people to the cities, and unequal development across various social groups of Indonesian society. Central questions for the present study included the older generation's current situation in rural Indonesia, how it varied across sociodemographic groups, how inequality was produced and how the existing system could be improved. Data was drawn from the 2016 Ageing in Rural Indonesia Survey (ARIS), limited to six villages across Sumatra, Java and Bali. Guided by old-age vulnerability theories, inequality is determined by identifying the perceptions held by older people of the outcomes that they seek to pursue and avoid during their old age. Based on this framework, inequality is defined as differences in health, care and support from children, standards of living and access to services. The study found inequalities in the lives of older people across regions, ethnicity, social class and gender. Elderly women are significantly more likely to suffer lower levels of health and greater economic disadvantage, and are less likely to have access to pensions. Older women can be both care recipients and providers of a disproportionate amount of unpaid care and domestic work for their families. This study also found that Javanese are substantially more likely to have better health and less likely to experience economic disadvantage compared with non-Javanese. We also found that those from higher social classes were significantly less likely to have disability, anxiety and economic disadvantage, as well as being more likely to access social services including pensions, health insurance and the Poslansia program. The study also concluded that coverage of social welfare programs for the elderly was very small in scope and mostly concentrated in western Indonesia. I argue that family support systems and community and welfare systems govern the experience of inequality in old age. The system in the family and community determine not only role-related activities and divisions of labour between them, but also gender differences in opportunities, which provide men and women with different and unequal resources, opportunities and exposure to risks and hazards. Elderly women are more exposed to hazards associated with caring and employment. These systems, which are largely constructed from social and religious norms, produce expected roles and needs of the elderly that in turn influence their overall well-being. The welfare system also contributes to the stratification of the roles of elderly men and women. The influence of the welfare system can be seen through the way programs for the elderly are organized and provided. The social security system itself often helps to cause limited access to non-contributory programs. As these systems determine inequality in later life, a crucial need has emerged to address the underlying causes of inequality as well as focussing on medical interventions. Older people must be mainstreamed, and much greater recognition is needed in Indonesian government policy of the growing problems they face