Intergenerational financial transfers of older adults in India: Evidence from Longitudinal Ageing Study in India wave-1

AbstractIntergenerational resource transfers are fabric of families. This study examined proportion of older adults' direct and indirect financial contributions through various resource transfers in the household. Using bivariate analysis total 25,201 households containing at least one older adult (60+ age) from Longitudinal Ageing Study in India wave-1 were analyzed. The highest contribution was made through work engagement (22%), followed by agriculture work (20.4%), loan-repayment (15.2%) and pension-income (12%). Contribution via business engagement was merely 2.5%. Contribution of older person via loan repayment was only 7% in urban residents, but it is more than double (19%) among rural residents. In terms of indirect financial transfer, the highest contribution was made through sharing the current residential house (62%), followed by cultivable land (34.5%), housing and commercial units (7.7%), and non-cultivable land (5.2%). Even in old-age, Indian seniors have potential to support families by sharing resources, reflecting strong intergenerational bonds and functional solidarity.