OBSTACLES ANALYSIS TO IMPLEMENT A UNIVERSAL NON-CONTRIBUTORY BASIC PENSION IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

Sri Lanka is heading toward an ageing society, and existing pension programmes do not provide adequate income and coverage for the elderly community, and old-age poverty is significant. According to the International Labour Organization, the Universal Non-Contributory Basic Pension (UNCBP) would be the answer. The study attempted to find the significant obstacles to implementing UNCBP in Sri Lanka. A quantitative method was employed to identify significant obstacles out of nine obstacles from previous literature by following the paired sample t-test of Ouda's method using the data from a questionnaire survey of 86 relevant professionals selected by the purposive sampling method. Compared to the other seven obstacles, the study identified that the instability of policies and lack of public understanding of pension systems have a more significant impact. To increase the accuracy and find any other important components, a broad-scaled and multi-dimensional study is required. This study was the initial effort to pinpoint the challenges to implementing UNCBP in Sri Lanka and maybe elsewhere. Thus, it would provide a fresh perspective on the study of pensions in ageing countries. Additionally, it advances the understanding and opinions of academics and officials about pension reform to lessen old-age poverty