Paper

Aging and Financial Inclusion: An Opportunity

Promoting financial inclusion among older people

This report highlights the barriers and opportunities in providing financial services to older people and throughout the aging process. It draws on literature from across the globe, but largely focuses on middle income countries, in particular Latin America and includes a spotlight on Colombia. The report incorporates information gathered from two different sources: an online poll of experts from the financial services sector, and focus group research with older people in Colombia. It provides a consumer perspective, especially from lower income people, on the extent to which older people in Colombia interact with formal financial services and know about the services on offer. The report suggests policymakers and providers to consider older people as an increasingly important market segment whose needs are different from that of younger adults. Key recommendations provided include:

  • Improve data on income sources and financial services used by older people;
  • Make credit more accessible to older people by changing age caps;
  • Deepen existing financial products used by older people and design new ones;
  • Enhance financial education and consumer protection;
  • Support the goal of universal pension coverage by integrating social pensions, own savings, and contributions to pensions, and improve compatibility with other income strategies.