Pension schemes protect older persons and their families facing barriers to earning an income in old age, as well as potential increases in health and other expenditures. While many people in the Asian and Pacific region continue to work into old age, labour force participation and earnings decrease at older ages. This is strongly linked to higher levels of disability and decreasing health in old age. It is related to factors such as age and gender discrimination in the workplace, legal restrictions, mandatory retirement age and cultural norms. Women are also more likely than men to be without income in old age. Disability and ill health not only create challenges for accessing paid work, but contribute to higher costs for older persons, including costs of accessing health care and personal assistance. While cultural traditions of family support to older persons have been historically strong in the region, the support provided is often insufficient, and providing this support puts pressure on household finances and employment prospects, particularly for women.

This is the sixth in a series of policy primers developed to support policymakers and practitioners in Asia and the Pacific in their efforts to strengthen social protection. This policy primer explains how social protection systems can be designed to recognize and compensate for interruptions in paid work, low earnings and informality that disproportionately impact women.

This is the fifth in a series of policy guides developed to support policymakers and practitioners in Asia and the Pacific in their efforts to strengthen social protection. This policy guide explains why social protection is important for persons with disabilities and introduces key concepts and schemes that are necessary for disability-inclusive social protection.

This is the fourth in a series of policy guides developed to support policymakers and practitioners in Asia and the Pacific in their efforts to strengthen social protection. This guide examines ways to finance social protection, with a focus on tax-financed social security schemes. This policy guide will outline the options for countries to increase investment in social protection through general government revenues. The guide will also briefly discuss social insurance schemes financed through contributions. Ideally, countries should build systems that are funded from both sources to ensure minimum income security for all citizens and residents and to smooth consumption levels over the lifecycle.

This is the third in a series of policy guides developed to support policymakers and practitioners in Asia and the Pacific in their efforts to strengthen social protection. This policy guide explains the administrative processes, organizational policies and systems required to implement tax-financed social protection, focusing on schemes providing income support. For social protection schemes to be effective, inclusive and sustainable, the right amount of money needs to be paid to the right person at the right time. This requires institutions and administrative systems that are efficient, account for public resources transparently and ensure good quality service delivery

This is the second in a series of four policy guides developed to support policymakers and practitioners in Asia and the Pacific in their efforts to strengthen social protection. This policy guide explains how to design inclusive and robust social protection systems and focuses on tax-financed income security, mainly through cash transfers.

This policy guide, developed by ESCAP together with Development Pathways, explains the basic principles of social protection and the impact it can have on poverty reduction, social cohesion, economic growth and the environment. It shows how investing in inclusive social protection can accelerate progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda. The guide is the first in a series of four policy guides developed to support policymakers and practitioners in Asia and the Pacific in their efforts to strengthen social protection. The second guide explains how to design inclusive and robust social protection systems and focuses on tax-financed income security; the third will focus on the effective implementation of inclusive social protection schemes and the fourth will discuss options for financing.