Abstract

The life cycle hypothesis posits that people save during their working years to accumulate resources in support of their habitual consumption during retirement (Modigliani and Brumberg, 1954). It is thus interesting to find out whether Filipino senior citizens (aged 60 years old and over) who are no longer part of the labor force are financially protected in terms of contributory or social pension coverage. Using data from the nationwide household-based Consumer Finance Survey and applying logistic regression and multiple correspondence analysis, this study also looks at salient characteristics of households of these senior citizens to determine which may have potentially greater financial safety net for their old, dependent and/or non-working members. Further, given the Philippines’ performance in the latest Mercer Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) Institute’s Global Pension Index, the study will attempt to estimate the gap between the pension benefits received or are being received by senior citizens vis-à-vis their minimum consumption requirements. Based on the key findings from econometric analyses, the study will propose an alternative retirement benefit scheme and other specific policy interventions geared towards financial protection of senior citizens.