Retired? Not Anymore. Sri Lanka’s Economic Crisis Puts Seniors Back to Work

JAFFNA, SRI LANKA — Before retiring from his government job in 2021, Kanthan Srishkantharasa had imagined a relaxing life as a retiree. But now, the 63-year-old works as a private security guard, leaving home at 6:30 every morning and not returning until 7:30 at night. Joining the workforce again after retirement was not exactly a choice. “Initially, my monthly pension could take care of our living expenses, because the cost of living was low,” Srishkantharasa says. Now, he must work to survive.

Retirement is increasingly becoming a luxury in Sri Lanka, one that Srishkantharasa and many like him can no longer afford. Even for those with carefully planned finances, the pension pots are not keeping them financially afloat after retirement — thanks to the soaring cost of living due to the economic crisis that hit the country in 2021.

“The prices of all goods and services have tripled. But the pension has not tripled accordingly. So, retirees are forced to look for jobs after retirement as well,” says Paramu Selvarajah, an administrative officer at Jaffna’s Mercantile Security Services, a staffing agency that has employed retirees seeking jobs, including Srishkantharasa.

Most formal sector workers leave their jobs at 55-60 years of age, after which they become eligible for some sort of income security through a pension or provident fund. But because pensions are a fixed amount, and don’t typically have cost-of-living adjustments, inflation and rising prices in Sri Lanka have had a direct impact. “The value of pension in the country has decreased due to the loss of the value for our money in itself,” says Mary Delcia Antony Christian, an economics lecturer at the University of Jaffna.

A Sri Lankan needs 16,975 Sri Lankan rupees (55 United States dollars) per month to meet basic needs, according to government statistics as of February. Srishkantharasa lives with his wife and sister in his sister’s home. He doesn’t own a house, car or smartphone. But even living this basic life is a challenge, he says. His pension is 24,745 rupees (84 dollars) per month. “With this,” he says, “I must take care of my sister and my wife’s medical expenses” for multiple health complications, including diabetes and high blood pressure.

Severe shortages of power, fuel and food, and the resulting price hikes, reflect the country’s economic crisis.

For the Srishkantharasa family of three, monthly expenses quickly add up: 30,000 rupees (101 dollars) for food, 6,000 rupees (20 dollars) each for medical expenses and cooking fuel, 5,000 rupees (17 dollars) for electricity, and 4,000 rupees (13.50 dollars) for special occasions, such as marriages and deaths.

About 12% of the 22 million population are over age 65. By 2041, according to the United Nations Population Fund, that proportion will rise to 24.8%, giving Sri Lanka one of the fastest-growing older populations in the world.

Srishkantharasa’s story is similar to that of many other retirees in the country. In South Asia, the charm of having a government job is primarily because of the pension that comes in after retirement, with the idea that this money will see retirees through till their death. But the unstable economy has changed that thinking.

Srishkantharasa retired as a maintenance officer in a government-run assisted living facility. Since it was a government job, he thought that he could live on his pension for the rest of his life. And in the initial months after his retirement, he did just that. In his free time — like most people in this neighborhood in Kaithadi village in Jaffna district, where the main occupation is agriculture and fishing — he tried his hands at small-scale farming. He got a piece of land on lease from a relative and started paddy cultivation. That same year, 2023, the rice seedlings were flooded by excessive monsoon rains, and his crops were destroyed.

Just after that, with an immediate loss of savings, he started feeling the pinch of the economic crisis. Spending on basics, let alone luxuries, emptied all his savings and made his pension insufficient. In 2023, he realized he didn’t have a choice — he found a job.

Vijayatharsiny Thinesh, GPJ Sri Lanka

Gopalapillai Vickramasingam, 61, sits for a portrait while working at a grocery shop near his home in the Inuvil area of Jaffna. Vickramasingam retired from a government job in 2023, but the rising cost of living meant he had to take up a job again to cover his expenses.

Gopalapillai Vickramasingam, 61, of the Inuvil area of Jaffna, retired in 2023 after working as a government official in a village. Since January this year, he has been working at a grocery shop near his house. “Retirement from government service in our country does not provide any special benefits or allowances,” he says.

In Sri Lanka, financial support for older people consists of several government pension schemes, but there are gaps in delivery and implementation. “Though we have implemented various programs through our Social Services department, we do not have any financial concessions or payments for those who have retired from government service,” says Ahalya Segarajah, Northern Province officer for the Department of Social Services, a government agency that provides financial assistance.

Various schemes are being implemented for older people. For example, the government has a provision of providing a one-time payment of 25,000 rupees (84 dollars) under the Arogya scheme, available through the National Secretariat for Elders to low-income persons above 60 years of age who suffer from chronic illnesses. In addition, there are government-run assisted living facilities.

“We are trying to find opportunities to re-employ them using their skills. But it cannot be done due to the current financial crisis,” adds Kapila Lanerolle, director of the National Secretariat for Elders.

Srishkantharasa’s monetary situation ensures that he cannot take a vacation. And since he wouldn’t get paid for those days off, he has no interest in taking a break anyway. “Perhaps if I had children, I would have stayed at home during my retirement. The children would have taken care of us,” Srishkantharasa says. For now, he says he has no choice but to keep working.