A specialized study recommended the need to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of targeting older people in Jordan with social protection systems, and to develop a comprehensive frame of reference for all entities that provide cash assistance to them.
This came during a discussion session held by the Phenix Center for Economic and Informatics Studies to discuss the results of a study it prepared on social protection for the older people in Jordan in the context of a comprehensive review to identify paths for expanding the pension system.
The study, prepared by the Phenix center in collaboration with HelpAge Jordan and the International Labor Organization (ILO), aimed to highlight several gaps in social protection coverage and areas in need of improvement, whether in the formal or informal sector.
“The social protection system in Jordan faces difficulties in providing comprehensive coverage for older citizens,” said Ahmad Awad, director of the Phenix Center, during the opening of a session held to discuss the results of the study.
Awad explained that the number of citizens over the age of 60 has reached about 615,000 people, but less than half of them receive pensions, while less than 10 percent of them rely on cash assistance.
Jessica Petitprez of HelpAge International said there is an urgent need to include older people in policies related to social protections, while Rana Al-Ansari of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Jordan said coverage indicators for social protection spending in Jordan are higher than regional averages.
Rana Al-Ansari of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Jordan said that the coverage indicators for social protection spending in Jordan exceed regional averages, with coverage of key vulnerable groups in Jordan such as the elderly, people with disabilities, and children being twice the regional averages.
Ola Bader, lead researcher at the Phenix Center, presented the main findings of the study, noting that there are multiple sources of cash income for older Jordanians, as 52 percent of them are covered through civil retirement or social security, 21 percent are covered by the National Aid Fund, and 27 percent are not covered by any social protection system.
As for older Syrian’s people in Jordan, the study showed that 80 percent receive cash assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or other non-governmental organizations.
The results of the study indicated that cuts in aid to Syrian refugees from UNHCR have negatively impacted the income of older Syrians in Jordan.
The study showed the income levels of the older people in Jordan, showing that 91 percent of Jordanian elderly respondents have a monthly income of less than 400 dinars per month, and 96 percent of Syrian refugee respondents have an income of less than 250 dinars per month.
Regarding insufficient income, the study showed that 28 percent of Jordanians and 69 percent of Syrian refugees are unable to meet housing needs such as paying bills and rent, 33 percent of Jordanians and 58 percent of Syrian refugees are unable to repay their loans and debts, while one-third of Jordanians and one-third of Syrians are unable to meet their medical and health expenses each month.
As for the coping mechanisms of Jordanian seniors with reduced income and services, the study indicated that 70 percent of seniors reported that they reduced the number of meals, 52 percent asked for help from relatives, friends, and neighbors, 45 percent reduced health care, and 37 percent reported having financial obligations (debts).
The study showed that negative coping mechanisms for Syrian refugees were selling received food aid, using expired medicines, and begging.
Shirin al-Momani, head of the Ministry of Social Development's Department for the Elderly and Homeless, said there is a waiting list for enrollment in old people's homes, noting that there is a “lack of budget” for purchasing services in old people's homes.
Khadija Al-Alawin, Director of Communication and Media at the National Council for Family Affairs, spoke about the main axes of the strategy for the elderly 2025-2030 in its third version, which was recently approved, and stressed that work is underway to develop an integrated implementation plan for it and that the National Committee for Older Persons and the Council are working with all relevant institutions to implement it.
Yazan Majali, head of the actuarial data and information department at the Social Security Corporation, said that nearly half of the workforce in Jordan is still not covered by the social security umbrella, stressing that the institution strives through its programs and strategies to include all the workforce under its umbrella.
Dr. Ehmoud Al Lasasmeh, Director General of the Darat Samir Shamma Association for the Elderly, said that there is a need to ensure an advanced level of health, psychological, social, and economic services for the elderly in Jordan.
Finally, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Adra, a faculty member at the University of Jordan, said that the older people are a group capable of production and should not be seen as a group in need of support.
There is a need to capitalize on the expertise of this group, which requires re-empowering them, training them, and integrating them into society so that they can offer what they have been trained to do throughout their lives, he said.