What I Heard in India About Growing Old
When I traveled to India, people talked to me about how they look after their elders.
When I traveled to India, people talked to me about how they look after their elders.
What struck me was the reasoning more than the rules. As I understood it, the idea is that a person should take care of what he can, and the government should take care of what he cannot. A person cannot be his own doctor. A person can look after his parents and his children. So medical care is the government's job, and caring for family is the family's.
In the United States, it looks to me close to the other way around. The government sends older people an income through Social Security. Medicare covers many medical bills, but it does not pay for a person's daily care when that is the only help needed. That care falls to the family or to the person's own savings, and many families turn to assisted living or a nursing home.
I wanted to see how much of this is written down and how much is custom, so I looked it up.
| What I heard | What I found | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Families care for their elders | About two out of three people aged 60 and older live with their children (national survey, 2017-18) | National survey, 2017-18 |
| It is expected of children | A 2007 law makes adult children responsible for maintaining their parents. A tribunal can order payment, and in the version I read it is capped at 10,000 rupees a month | PRS India summary of the 2007 Act |
| Medical care is covered | A government health scheme was extended to everyone 70 and older in October 2024, with cover of up to 5 lakh rupees a year. About 93 lakh cards had been issued by December 2025, out of roughly 6 crore people thought to be eligible | Parliament replies, December 2025 |
| Medical care is covered | The same survey found only about 18% of people 60 and older had any health insurance | National survey, 2017-18 |
So the family half of what I heard is well supported. The medical half is a promise that is still being built. The government is moving toward it, and many older people are not yet covered.
Other countries have still other arrangements. Japan, South Korea and Germany use insurance that pays for care. The Nordic countries bring help to the home. Singapore has a law that lets parents go to a tribunal for support. I will write about these in later pieces. Every country makes a trade somewhere.
I am not telling anyone which is better. I only wanted to say that there is more than one way to look at growing old, and it helps to know the others exist.
You could…
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Ask your parents and your children what they each picture for the later years.
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Read how the country you are thinking of moving to treats foreign residents who need long-term care.
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Share what you saw in another country that surprised you.
What have you seen in another country that made you think about growing old differently? Share it here. Someone reading may be planning a move.
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Sources: Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (2017-18); PRS India summary of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act; Government of India Parliament replies on Ayushman Bharat (December 2025).
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